


The Cute College Boy

by lupinseclipse



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: A-levels, Angst, BIG slow burn, Badass, Badass Remus, College, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gay, Harry Potter AU, Hogwarts, Jock - Freeform, Jock/Soft boy, Lesbian, M/M, Marauders, Modern Hogwarts, Pining, Remus is badass, SO MUCH FLUFF, Sirius is a soft art nerd, Sixth Form, Slow Burn, Sofy Boy, Wolfstar Marauders, aesthetic switch, but some angst, dorlene, enjoy, im running out of ideas for tags, imma stop, jily, lots of fluff, lots of pining, mlm, mlw - Freeform, modern marauders, muggle, peter is good, soft sirius, wlw, wolfstar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:15:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 33,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25240729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lupinseclipse/pseuds/lupinseclipse
Summary: Remus Lupin is the most popular boy in college. With leather jackets and motorbikes, he and his friends, The Marauders, rule the school.Sirius Black is a shy and quiet art nerd and would rather spend his time in the library with his friends than out of the sports pitch.When these two meet, there is a scuffle, a panic and a punch. It's the day they meet face to face adn the day everything changes.
Relationships: (eventually) Frank Longbottom/Alice Longbottom, (eventually) James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Hope Lupin/Lyall Lupin, Marlene McKinnon/Dorcas Meadowes, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Walburga Black/Orion Black (Brief)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 72





	1. Remus-1

Remus arrived at the college in style, as he did everyday: On his black motorbike, skateboard sticking out of his rucksack. He climbed off once he had parked and pulled his skateboard out, dropping it on the floor. He took off his helmet, padlocked it to his bike and skated through the college gates on the lookout for his friends. 

“OI! Remus! Over here mate!” 

Remus looked up when he saw the shout and saw James, Frank and Peter leaning against the wall outside college. They were waving at him, so he glided over to them, turning a full 360 just before he came to a halt before them. James rolled his eyes and punched Remus’s shoulder lightly. 

“Show off!” He exclaimed. 

“Absolutely,” Remus grinned at him and picked up his board again. 

The four boys grabbed their bags and started to make their way into the collage. As they entered, James wasn’t looking where he was going, and he ran straight into a small boy, with long black hair and a big fuzzy pale-yellow jumper. 

Oh, in the name of God he was beautiful. His hair was tied up in a bun, with some loose bits at the front, framing his face. His jumper was slightly too big for him and he wore faded denim jeans that had a couple of rips in them. And his shoes, oh, his shoes! He had rainbow lace-up converse on, and Remus’s heart fluttered at the sight of him. He was gorgeous. 

“Ah shit!” James cried, as the boy tumbled to the floor, dropping his bag and art sketchbook, “Dude. Watch where you walk. Jesus.” He scowled at the boy and marched past, kicking the boy’s sketchbook across the hall. 

The boy didn’t say anything, he just sat against the wall, frozen and shaking. His eyes glazed over, and he clenched his fists. Remus saw his chest rise and fall rapidly as his breathing sped up. Frank and Peter just laughed at him and walked on past him, kicking his sketchbook further away from him. Remus looked at the boy and hesitated, before he ran down the corridor, picked up the sketchbook and handed it back to the boy, who was still shaking and looked like he was having a panic attack. 

“Here. Sorry about them,” He said, smiling, “Are you okay? Are you with me?” 

The boy seemed to snap out of his panic and his breathing regulated, but his eyes still darted around, and he hugged himself tightly. Once his shaking subsided, he took his sketchbook off Remus, picked up his bag and stood up, leaning against the wall. 

“It’s okay,” He mumbled, not making eye contact, “M used to it. And I’m fine. Thanks.” 

“REMUS!” Frank yelled from down the hall, “Come on!” 

“Dam. That’s my call. See ya ‘round,” Remus said, and he turned and walked on to where his friends were at the door to the psychology classroom, where Peter had his first lesson. He looked over his shoulder just before he reached his friends and saw a red-haired girl, Lily Evans, run up to the boy, looking worried. They put their heads together and started chatting, and Lily soon gave the boy a hug. Remus sighed and continued walking towards the others. 

“Did you lot watch the skate competition on Saturday?” Remus heard Peter ask when he caught up to them, “It was bloody amazing.” 

“You can say that again Pete,” Frank said, “I watched it with me mam and dad. I loved whatsis face. Er. Fin? Was it? The lad who came third.” 

“Yeah Fin Gurnit. He was brill,” Peter said. 

“He was didn’t you just love the part where he...” James trailed off as he caught sight of a head of long ginger hair come marching towards him. It was Lily, and she looked furious. He blushed and cleared his throat, pushing a hand nervously through his hair, “Hey Evans,” He said as Lily stopped in front of him, her arms folded across her chest. 

‘Oh fuck,’ Remus thought. 

“Potter. What the fuck?” Lily snapped at him, her eyes blazing. 

“Er... I don’t... What?” James said, clearly confused. 

“You ran into Sirius, knocked him and all his things flying, didn’t apologise, kicked his sketchbook away and laughed at him. And the rest of you! You laughed at him!” Lily glared at Frank and Peter before she turned back to James. 

The boy, Sirius, ran up behind Lily and tugged her sleeve. He looked nervous, like he would rather be anywhere but here, standing with the school’s most famous friendship group, ‘The Marauders.’ 

“Lily,” He said, tugging her sleeve again, “It’s fine. Please. Don’t. Can we just go?” 

“No Siri. They hurt you-” 

“They really didn’t-” 

“I don’t care. Potter apologise to Sirius now before I punch you,” Lily said, and she looked so angry, that Remus knew she would follow her threat through if James didn’t apologise. James, however, didn’t seem bothered by Lily’s threats, and he just laughed at her, which made her even more furious. Behind her, Sirius’s eyes widened, and he made to step away, until he caught Remus’s eye and started, blushing. Remus blushed as well and looked away when Sirius looked over, feeling embarrassed. He had been staring at Sirius because he thought the small, scared boy was adorable and all he wanted to do, was sweep Sirius into a hug and kiss his lips and forehead. 

“Chill Evans. He wasn’t looking where he was going. S’not my fault if he bumps into something.” 

Remus quickly put all his attention back on the argument between Lily and James, trying to forget about the gorgeous apparition stood behind Lily. 

“Lily,” Sirius said again, pulling her back, “Let’s go. Please?” 

Lily looked at Sirius and her face softened when she saw how nervous he looked. She sighed and nodded. 

“Fine. Let’s go,” Lily scowled at the group and made to leave. James started laughing again and he called out at her retreating back, 

“Oh Evans. Always knew you were too soft to throw a punch.” 

This, as it turned out, was a mistake to say. For, once the words left James’s lips, Lily stopped and slowly turned back around to face him, looking livid. Sirius peered over his shoulder when he realised Lily wasn’t following him, and his face went from shy to scared in an instant. He tried to catch her arm, but he missed at the last moment and Lily lunged at James. Her hand curled into a fist and she landed a hard punch right on James’s nose. James howled in pain and clutched his face as blood started trickling out of his nose. Everyone around them stopped and stared at James and Lily, half shocked, half amused. 

Lily would only ever lash out if she was truly mad, and that never happened often. She stood, fuming, staring at James, who’s eyes were wide in shock. Everyone was silent, and Sirius was shaking. 

“Lily,” He said. 

“Never,” Lily spat at James, “Never mess with me, or my friends.” 

She gave him one final look of pure hatred and stormed off down the corridor, Sirius hurrying after her. No-one moved or said anything for a moment, until Frank looked closer at James’s nose and grimaced. 

“She sure got you Jamie, that looks bad. Let’s go to the nurse and she can fix you up.” 

“Yeah mate. Go. That was stupid of you to rile up Lily. You may want to try a different flirting technique!” Peter shouted as Frank led James towards the nurse’s room, while everyone else recovered from the shock of seeing Lily hit James and moved on to their own classes. Remus turned to face Peter; his eyebrow raised. 

“Well. That’s one way to start the week,” He mused, “Anyway. I’ve got English now. See you later.” He smiled at Peter and wandered towards the English block over the other side of the college, all the while, thinking about Sirius. 


	2. Sirius-1

Sirius sat bolt upright in his bed w hen he saw the time on his clock, which read 7:34.

‘Shit I’m  gunna be late,’ He thought as he scrambled out of bed and ran into the bathroom to take a very quick shower.  Once he was done, he got dressed in record time , tied his hair up in a quick messy bun , scarfed down a piece of toast, grabbed his  bag  and sketchbook  and ran out of his house after yelling goodbye to his A unt Alya  Prewett .  He ran out  onto the pavement and skidded to a halt just as he reached a black VW car that belonged to his friend  Dorcas .

“You shit Sirius Black!” She exclaimed when Sirius got in and she started the car, “You were nearly late , and I was  gunna leave with out you ! Have you put your bike in the car? ”

“Sorry  D ,” Sirius said meekly , “And no I haven’t.”

“Well go do it. It’s Monday, remember?” Do rca s slapped his hands as he jumped out and grabbed his bike from the garage, shovin g it into the boot. He  climbed back into the car and  yank ed his seat belt  on as  Dorcas  sped down the roads to the college . She  rolled her eyes at him and  threw him a cheeky smile a s she turned the radio on .  They sang their hearts out to all the songs that came on the radio and were laughing so hard  when they pulled up in the  college  car park . 

As he got out of the car, Sirius heard a roar of a motorbike  nearby and he looked around to see the school’s  heartthrob Remus Lupin climbing off his  sleek black  motorbike. He tugged off his helmet and ran a hand through  his beautiful curls, making Sirius’s knees go weak. Sirius was so busy  staring; he didn’t  hear  Dorcas calling him until she shouted  in his ear , making him start.

“Earth to Sirius,” She laughed at his startled face, “Come on lover boy, we have class.”

“Sorry  D ,” Sirius said, “ It’s not my fault he is so fucking gorgeous.”

“Alright shut up. If you keep going on about boys, you might run the risk of turning me straight! And you know Marls would kill you if you did that .”

Sirius looked sceptically at her and rolled his eyes.

“The day you are straight is the day  Mr.  Dumbledore comes to school in drag ,” He deadpanned.

Dorcas  doub l e d u p l a u g h i n g a t t h a t a n d almost dropped her bag. She hit him on the shoulder and grinned at him .

“I’m  gunna tell Marls you said that. She will piss herself laughing. Anyway. I’ve got  geography now so I’m stopping here. What have you got?”

“ Double  art with Lils  then a free. Which I’m  gunna spend in the library. I take it you,  Lils , Marls and Alice will join me for that free?” Sirius said.

“ Not Al or Marls. Al’s got some drama meeting and Marls has  h istory. But me and Lils will come ,” Dorcas said and stopped at the door to the geography department and grinned at  him, “See you then.”

“Bye D!” Sirius yelled and walked on towards the main school where  the art department  was , his sketchbook tucked under his arm. When he arrived in the main school, he turned down one corridor and promptly dropped his sketchbook after tripping over his own feet . He bent down to pick it up and once he looked up, all he saw was James Potter, who wasn’t looking where he was going, and he was heading straight fo r Sirius. Sirius didn’t have any time to dodge out of the way and James collided into him, making him fall over and  drop his sketchbook again . James swore at him and  kicked his sketchbook  down the corridor, out of his reach as he walked past laughing, followed by all his friends apart from one. 

Remus looked hesitant at first, but then he ran down the corridor, picked up Sirius’s sketchbook and handed it back to him, smiling. Sirius couldn’t focus for a moment. He was frozen, leaning against the wall, shaking and breathing fast. That was so like what _ They _ used to do to him. Push him down, make fun of him.  _ They _ did it much worse, obviously, but James doing that still reminded him of everything he had left behind. It reminded him of what they did. He heard Remus speak. The boy sounded worried, almost... Concerned, and that made him snap out of his panic. He mumbled something to Remus and then Remus ran off, back to his friends.

‘Fuck,’ Sirius thought, ‘ Fuck, fuck. I never want to remember them. Never. ’

“Siri us !” He heard a voice and looked up to see Lily running up to him, “Siri. Are you okay? I saw what happened. Are you alright?” She babbled, looking worried.

“I-I’m okay.  I think.  It just reminded me of  _ Them _ . You know?  _ They _ would do that kind of stuff. Only  much  worse. I had a mini panic attack. And I just...” Sirius shivered ,  and Lily  wrapped her  arms around him , letting him rest his forehead on her shoulder.

“Oh Siri.  I’m sorry. It was  Potter , the bastard. I’m  gunna give him a piece of my mind and he better apologise,” She said, glaring over at James.

“No. Lils it’s okay. Can we just go to art?” Sirius said, not wanting to draw any attention to himself.

“It’s not okay. Come on!” She marched down the corridor towards the  psychology classrooms , her beautiful red hair swaying as she walked, with Sirius closely following her.  They walked up to the  Marauders and  Lily had a right go at James. She shouted at him and Sirius started to get embarrassed.

Lily got shouty. She got really shouty as she was so angry at James for running into Sirius. He tried to stop her on multiple occasions, but she was on a  roll, so he gave up on her and let his eyes wander the rest of the group, where they came to rest on Remus. 

Remus was, in Sirius’s opinion, the hottest boy to ever have set foot on the planet. He had amazing curly brown hair that he just left alone and would run a hand through it every so often , messing it up . He wore a black studded leather jacket, black ripped jeans, a white t-shirt and black Doc Martins. He also had several ear piercings  and cool  bikers' gloves  and that just added to his appearance. He was bloody gorgeous. 

Just then, Remus caught his eye and Sirius blushed, turning away, but not before he saw Remus blush as well. He focused back onto the argument and heard James tell Lily to chill, so before Lily could say anything  else, he pulled her back .

Lily looked back at him and her face softened. She sighed,  rubbed her hand over her face  and turned to leave, but not before scowling  fiercely at the Marauders. Just before they moved, Sirius heard James laugh again.

“Oh Evans. Always knew you were  too soft to throw a punch!”

‘Crap,’ Sirius thought. He turned and saw Lily was no longer beside him, but was back, facing James. She curled her fist and Sirius made to grab her but missed, and Lily’s fist connected with James’s nose, causing him to howl in pain.

She glowered  so  fiercely at James, that Sirius thought it a wonder he didn’t evaporate into smoke right then and there, grabbed Sirius’s arm and stormed off down the corridor towards the art department. When they had put a few corridors between them and the  psychology classrooms, Lily breathed out and lent against the wall, pressing her palms into her head.

“He is such a  _ shit _ !” She said, rubbing her head, “ Hell i f I ever see him again-”

“Lil calm down. Just breathe. Okay?” Sirius cut across her and put his hand on her shoulder, “I  appreciate you wanted to stick up for me back there, but  maybe you went just a little over the top.”

Lily looked up at him and smiled.

“What, a bloody nose a bit too much?” 

“Yeah.  Next time aim for his stomach ,” Sirius replied and grinned as Lily laughed and punched his shoulder lightly. 

“But honestly, I hate him. He's such an arse and I can’t believe he did that to you,” She said and hugged Sirius again.  Sirius just huffed out a laugh and the two of them went into their art class, smiling and chatting. But Sirius could not stop thinking about Remus.


	3. Remus-2

The day passed slowly for Remus. He had double English in the morning and then double  music in the afternoon. Luckily, his music teacher let the class out twenty minutes early as they had had an exam but finished early. Remus knew that James and Peter had drama and Frank was in the gym that afternoon. He also knew that they had all arranged to go to the skate park together after class, but Remus couldn’t be bothered to wait twenty minutes for them, so he  sent a quick text to the group chat.

** Hey ** ** I’ve been let out early so  ** ** imma ** ** head home for a bit. See you guys at the park in 20 <3 **

He  was so busy focusing on his phone that he didn’t look up as he got into the car park.  He only looked up when he heard a shout, then everything seemed to go in slow motion. He saw Sirius running towards him, eyes wide, he saw a car reversing fast in his direction.  He knew he wouldn’t be able to get out of the way in time. But then he felt a shove in his side, pushing him out of the way, he heard a scream as his re scuer took the hit instead of him, he wa tched the car speed off out of the car park and get away fast, but not fast enough as Remus managed to snap a clear photo of the number plate.

He heard a groaning noise on the ground and looked down to see Sirius, lying on the floor clutching his  side. Remus quickly realised that Sirius had been the one to push him out of the way of the car, and Sirius had taken the hit instead of Remus. He  knelt down next to the boy and waved a hand in front of his face.

“Hi there. Can you see my hand? How many fingers am I holding up?” He held up three finger and Sirius squinted, then closed his eyes again.

“Err. Four,” Sirius said, then he tried to move his head, but cried out in pain, bringing a hand from his hip to  the back of  his head and when he bought it away,  his fingers were dripping with blood, “ Fuck ,” He said, and dropped his hand onto his stomach.

“Okay, I’m  gunna call an ambulance, alright?” Remus said, pulling up the keypad  on his phone and dialling 999. He put the phone on speaker and put in next to Sirius’s head. Sirius reached out his non-bloody hand and tried to grab Remus’s.

“You won’t leave, will you?” He said once he had finally managed to grab Remus’s hand. Remus shook his head and jumped as a female voice said from his phone:

“999, what service do you require ?”

“ Ambulance.  My friend Sirius has just been hit by a car. He has blood coming out of the back of his head, he can’t see  straight and he’s holding his side like he’s in a lot of pain,” Remus  said.

“Okay, where are you? Can you give me your address and we will send an ambulance  asap. Try to keep your friend conscious and stay on the line until the ambulance arrives, alright? ”

“ We are at  Hogwarts Sixth Form College, Hogsmeade Village,  Scotland and we are in the college car park ,” Remus said, and he felt Sirius grip his hand tighter.

“You have two heads,” He  said , and his eyes slipped shut.

“No, Sirius  stay with me. You  gotta stay with me. Hey  mate , look at me,” Remus pried Sirius’s eyes open and made sure Sirius was conscious, “Hey. You took quite a hit. Thanks for sa ving me.”

“You weren’t looking,” Sirius  murmured , then he groaned again, putting a hand to his head. Remus frowned and took off his leather jacket.

“This is  gunna hurt but I’m  gunna put my jacket under your head, so you aren’t lying on the concrete, okay?”

“Bu’ then I’ll get blood on your jacket,” Sirius said and cried out as Remus lifted his head to put his jacket under  his head. His eyes went wide when he saw the concrete behind Sirius’s head, and he spoke to his phone again.

“He’s losing a lot of blood but he’s holding a conversation with me.”

“Okay that’s good, keep him talking and the ambulance should be with you in three minutes. How old are both of you?” The operator lady said.

“I’m seventeen and Sirius, how old are you Sirius?” Remus asked Sirius, turning to the boy on the floor next to him.

“M seventeen,” Sirius said.

“Sirius is seventeen as well,” Remus told the operator.

“That’s good that he answered you, it means he can still take in everything around him. ”

Remus continued to chat to Sirius while they waited for the ambulance and Sirius held the conversation  pretty well , with a few weird answers and statements.  Remus decided, that if he was going to stay with Sirius, he needed to tell his friends, so he sent another text to the chat:

** Ummm ** ** so I can’t make it to the park.  ** ** The boy Jamie ran into this morning just got hit by  ** ** a car  ** ** an ** ** d ** ** I’m going with him to the hospital.  ** ** I’ll text when I’m out <3 **

“Can  you come to the hospital  wiv me?” Sirius  mumbled , tugging on Remus’s hand .

“Course. Oh, I think I hear the ambulance,” Remus looked up and sure enough, an a mbula nce was coming down the road towards them, it’s lights  flashing and siren blaring out.  Remus stood up and waved at it as it came into the car park , but Sirius moaned when Remus let his hand go.

“No please don’t leave me.”

“I’m not going anywhere  mate. The ambulance is here so I’m waving it over,” Remus knelt back beside Sirius and  took his hand again. 

The ambulance drove over to them and two paramedics, a man and a woman, jumped out and  knelt  next to Sirius. They started doing some check on him and then  the man got up and pulled a stretcher out of the back of the ambulance.

“Hey kid,” The woman turned to Remus, “What’s your name and how do you know Sirius?”

“I’m Remus Lupin and I don’t know him that well but we both attend this college together,” Remus replied, “Is it okay if I come with him to hospital? He asked me not to leave him.”

“Sure. Hop in and sit on the blue chair by his stretcher,” The woman smiled , and Remus  got into the ambulance after grabbing his and Sirius’s bags. He sat beside Sirius and took the boy’s hand again, receiving a weak squeeze, letting him know he had done the right thing.

“ Re m us?” Sirius asked, tugging on Remus’s hand, “Can  you text my Aunt Alya? Phone’s in bag. Password’s Pad foot,  wiv a capital P.”

“Sure,” Remus picked up Sirius’s phone and found a contact called ‘Aunty Al <3’  so, he clicked on it and sent a quick text.

** He ** ** llo, ** ** my name is Remus Lupin and I go to school with Sirius. He has just been hit by a car and he and I are in the ambulance on the way to St. Mungo’s ** ** H ** ** ospi ** ** tal.  ** ** I’m sorry this is short notice, but I think he would like you at the hospital with him.  **

He  put the phone away and looked back at Sirius, whose face was very pale. The paramedics were working some machine thing that seemed to be monitoring Sirius’s heart rate. The man bent down and whispered in Remus’s ear.

“Keep talking to him, if he’s conscious then it will be easier for us to  work around him.”

Remus nodded and kept talking to Sirius through the whole drive and he didn’t leave his side when they arrived at the hospital.  He stayed by Sirius’s bed a s the doctors came into the ward Sirius had been placed in and asked them both questions then ran some tests on Sirius. They decided Sirius needed an operation to fix the  wound on the back of his head. Remus squeezed Sirius’s hand once more and then the doctors wheeled his bed through to  surgery , where Sirius would spend the next couple of hours.


	4. Sirius-2

Monday’s were the best day in Sirius’s opinion. He only had double art then he, Marlene, Dorcas, Lily and Alice would go to the library  and have a study date with coffee. Usually, he would go home after  the study date , but  he decided to stay  at college and get some of his art and media studies coursework done.  He had almost finished his piece for his art when the teacher , Miss  Hill,  came in  at 15:10,  twenty minutes before the end of the day.

“Hiya Sirius, I’m  gunna have to lock the room now as I’m leaving. My  sister is moaning that I stay too long on a Mondays,” She pulled a face and  Sirius laughed . H e and his art teacher were very close and always had good chats and laughs.

“No worries,” He said, “ I’m almost done on this. Just got to finish the map bit but I’ll do that tomorrow. See you.”

“Bye Sirius,” Miss Hill called, and Sirius packed up all his things and left the room.  He wandered over to the car park to grab his bike from  Dorcas’s car when he saw it. Remus was looking down at his phone, not paying attention and a car was reversing fast towards him. 

“ REMUS! LOOK OUT!” Sirius  shouted , causing Remus to look up. The car was driving fast , and Sirius saw Remus was going to get hit so, he ran forwards and shoved Remus out of the way . He screamed as the car hit him instead of Remus and he fell back, whacking his head on the concrete behind him. The car sped off and Sirius lay on the ground, in too much pain to move.

He sensed Remus had  knelt down beside him, but he couldn’t tell as  the pain was filling his head, making it unable to think properly. There was pain in his side, back and head and it hurt like hell. 

The next ten minutes passed like a blur for Sirius. He wasn’t really focused , and he kept seeing stars. Remus seemed to  buzz around  him , and  the only time Sirius could properly sense everything around him, was when he was holding Remus’s hand.

Somehow, the feeling of the other boy’s hand in his  grounded  him and made him come to his senses. He felt the ground beneath him and the jacket behind his head. But above it all, he always felt the pain. The unbearable pain in his head and side.  It felt like someone had cut open the back of his head and was poking him in the side with a red-hot metal spike. Oh , Gods it hurt. But, the feeling of Remus’s hand in his kept him feeling, and he stayed awake and  aware.

They arrived at St. Mungo’s within five minutes of leaving college and the doctors wheeled his bed through to  a  room , all the while, Remus didn’t leave his side. He answered the questions directed at him and was then wheeled through to surgery.

***

He woke up a few hours later feeling very groggy and  tired. Someone was holding his left hand and he was vaguely aware of voices in the room. He tried to open his eyes, but the lights were too bright , and they made his head hurt. He groaned and put his hand up to  his eye s, shielding them from the light.

“'S too bright. Turn lights off,” He mumbled , and he heard someone laugh to his left. He slowly turned his head, groaning when it hurt and opened his eyes a little to see  Aunt Alya holding his hand and  a tall  brown-haired boy was  sat next to her , “Ally.”

“Hey Siri,” Alya smiled at him and lean t forward, pressing a kiss to his fingers, “How you  feeling ?”

“ H ead hurts. And m y  side,” Sirius replied, squeezing Alya’s hand and smiling weakly at her, “' S the time?”

“It’s a  half past six ,” The boy  said, and Sirius squinted, trying to focus on the boy.

“Remus!” He said, smiling again when he realised Remus was still with him, “What you doing here? I thought you would’ve gone home or something. ”

“Na. I wanted to stay. Plus, Alya is good company,” Remus smiled at Sirius then at Alya, “I’m glad you’re okay. You’ve ruined my leather jacket though,” He held up his jacket, whic h was covered in Sirius’s blood and Sirius moaned.

“I told you. I didn’t want to lean on it. Now it’s ruined,” He said, eyes widening at the sight of Remus’s jacket, but Remus just laughed.

“Mate don’t worry. It’s fine. I’ve got a spare at home,” Remus said ,  and he grinned at Sirius. Then his phone went off and it startled everyone, “Shoot sorry. It’s J ames. Can I take this?”

Sirius and Alya nodded and Remus went out of the room to take the call. Alya turned back to Sirius and squeezed his hand again.

“So, that is the Remus Lupin that you’ve been going on about,” She said.

“Yeah. He’s amazing. Today was the first day I  actually spoke to him. It was this morning when...” Sirius trailed off, closing his eyes, not wanting to remember. He opened them again when he felt Alya take his other hand.

“I know love. Lily called me and told me what happened. That group sound like  a bunch of  jerks but Remus isn’t one, is he? He’s sweet and I can see why you  like him,” Alya laughed when Sirius’s face turned red and he was just about to reply when Remus walked in.

“Sirius, the doctors  just caught  me , and they  want to keep you in for a couple of days so they can keep an eye on you,” Remus said as he lent in the doorway.

“Okay,” Sirius nodded sleepily, “I might just sleep. I’m tired.”

Alya and Remus laughed softly.

“Alright love,” Alya said, “I’m going to go home and tell Lily and the others, okay? I’ll come back tomorrow at visiting times,” She kissed Sirius’s forehead and left the room, smiling at Remus on her way out.

“It okay if I come and visit tomorrow as well?” Remus asked, grinning at how cute a sleepy Sirius was.

“Yeah. That would be nice,” Sirius yawned and settled down into his covers, “I’m sleeping now. Bye.”

“Bye Sirius,” Remus said, and  Sirius fell  into a dreamless sleep .


	5. Remus-3

He stood in the doorway for a few minutes after Sirius fell asleep, watching the rise and fall of his chest, watching his  mouth curve  into a small smile as he dreamed. Remus found himself wanting to curl around the bo y and hold his hand and kiss his forehead. 

He had enjoyed staying at the hospital with Alya, waiting for Sirius to come out of  surgery . He loved talking to Alya and h e was shocked to discover  that  Sirius  w as disowned from the family when he was sixteen. Alya had been the same. She was disowned when she was  twenty-four because she  was a lesbian and married someone in the ‘lower class’, someone that wasn’t deemed suitable for the Black  family . Remus had asked why Sirius was disowned, but Alya refused to tell him.

“He will tell you in his own time if he wishes,”  She  had said.

Just before he left, Remus felt like he had to say goodbye properly to the sleeping boy on the hospital bed before him, so that’s exactly  what he did.  He walked over to Sirius’s bedside and picked up his hand, interlocking their fingers. He reached out his other hand and tucked a stray piece of hair behind Sirius’s  ear. He studied Sirius for a moment, taking in how beautiful he looked when he was relaxed. How soft his face looked compared to that morning when they were in the hall at college.  Remus smiled and he pressed a soft kiss to Sirius’s knuckles.

“I’ll see you tomorrow Sirius,” He whispered, and he left  the room, closing the door quietly on his way out. 

He stood in the silence outside Sirius’s room, letting his mind think. He was so deep into his thoughts, he jumped when he heard his phone ring. He pulled it out and saw it was Peter , so he answered .

Peter(P): Heya Re. Where are you?

Remus(R): Hey Pete. I’ve just left Sirius’s room at the hospital.

P: You were there this whole time?

R: Well yeah. I wanted to make sure he was okay when he woke up and I met his aunt, who is a  really nice person. 

P: Oh. Okay, but you still didn’t come to the skate park.

R: I know and I’m sorry. We  can go some other time .

P:  Mmm , I guess. Anyway, do you need a lift or something?

R: Yeah. Is college still open? Coz my bike is at college.

P: Yep, it’s still open. It doesn’t close ‘till eight on Mondays ‘coz of the choir practice.

R: Okay, cool. Can you come and pick me up from St. Mungo’s then drop me off at  college?

P: Sure mate. I’ll be there in ten.

R: Cheers.

Remus hung up the phone and went to sit in the  waiting room where he thought some more. He thought about lots of things, but he mostly thought about Sirius.  One thing that troubled him, was a conversation he heard between two doctors when he got off the phone from James. He replayed the conversation in his mind:

_ “L _ _ ex _ _ ,” The first doctor said, “Who is in room twenty-six? _ _ I saw you coming out of there. _ _ ” _

_ “ _ _ Hi  _ _ Jason. It’s  _ _ Sirius Black,” The second doctor, L _ _ ex _ _ , said _ _. _ __

_ “Again? What’s happened this time?”  _ _ Jason  _ _ said. _

_ “He’s been hit by a car. He pushed a boy out of the way of the car, saving him, and well... He was the one that got hit,” L _ _ ex _ _ said. _

_ “Oh, so it’s not the usual case?” _ _ Jason said, and he sounded relieved. _

_ “No. Jason, you know that he was disowned when he was sixteen. He moved in with hi _ _ s aunt _ _ , Alya I think her name is, _ _ and she has been his legal guardian ever since,” Lex told Jason _ _. _

By then, another doctor had come up to Remus and asked him to tell Sirius that he needed to stay in hospital for a couple of days. Out of the conversation he heard, one sentence stuck out; ‘It’s not the usual case?’

What usual case? Did Sirius come to hospital often? What happened to him when he came? Why was he disowned? What happened to him in his past? All these thoughts vibrated around Remus’s brain and he was glad when Peter walked into the hospital, waving at him. Remus smiled at Peter ,  climbed into his car and they drove back to college, where Peter dropped Remus off .  Remus walked towards his motorbike, stopping for a moment by the spot of concrete stained red with Sirius’s blood. 

T he sight of the other boy’s blood made his  stomach churn and a realisation struck him. He was upset that Sirius was in hospital, of course, anyone would be. But there seemed to be more emotion in his head than just worry and sadness. There was another , but he couldn’t quite place which emotion it was. It was strong, that’s for sure, but he couldn’t name it.

He sighed and climbed aboard him motorbike, shoving his helmet on. He forced himself to clear his head before he left college, as he knew if he drove while thinking about Sirius, he would get distract ed and most likely crash. He sped along the roads,  weaving through the traffic, listening to the village of Hogsmeade buzz around him in the night air. He made it home  in ten minutes and when he arrived, he collapsed onto the soft armchair in the living room, wrapping a blanket around himself for, even though it was April, it was still  pretty cold in the evenings. 

As he sat, his parents joined him and his mum, Hope, passed him a plate of  shepherd's pie and a knife and fork, smiling at him.

“Where have you been Remus?” His dad, Lyall, asked.

“St. Mungo’s. A boy, Sirius, saved me from being runover and Sirius got hit instead , so I went with him to hospital . He’s staying there for a couple of days , but I needed to make sure he was okay and thank him for saving me. I’m going to  go back tomorrow after class and see him ,” Remus said, taking a large bite of pie.

“Oh Lord, is he okay?” Hope asked, sitting up straight, her eyes wide.

“Yeah, I think he is. He has a nasty gash on the back of his head that he had to have surgery for, and the car hit his side, so he’s bruised there, but he chatted and was smiling when I left.  He will be fine,” Remus said, reaching over and patting Hope’s arm reassuringly.

“Are you okay, Remus?” Lyall said as he sat down with a tray of food.

“Yeah I’m fine Dad. Was a bit shaken but I’m fine,” Remus smiled at his parents and continued eating his  supper. He excused himself once he had finished and he ran up to his room to get his homework done.  After he did his homework, he collapsed on his bed and pulled  out  his phone, opening his texts. Sirius didn’t know this but, when Remus sent a text to Alya using Sirius’s phone, he put his number into Sirius’s phon e and memorised Sirius’s number. He  clicked on Sirius’s contact and sent him a quick  text.

** Hey, it’s Remus. I hope you don’t mind that I put my number on your phone  ** ** ahah ** **. Just wondering if you’re okay, and I’ll come to the hospital at two tomorrow after my  ** ** history ** ** class. (If you still want me to come  ** ** hehe ** ** ). Night. **

He then plugged his phone in, had a shower,  and climbed into bed, falling asleep almost instantly, dreaming of Sirius.


	6. Sirius-3

_ It was dark. Pitch black and he couldn’t see anything. He could only hear a  _ _ high-pitched laugh. Then a voice hissed in his ear, _

_ “Sirius.” _

_ He spun around, breathing fast. _

_ “Who’s there?” He called, not really wanting to know the answer. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light and he was in his room, sat on the bed.  _ _ He stilled. The house was quiet, too quiet. The sort of quiet where you expect something bad to happen.  _ _ He crept silently out of his room and along the landing, down the stairs. He hadn _ _ ’t been inside these walls for over a year, but nothing had changed. _ __ _ As he walked down the hallway past the living room, the door creaked open and he was tugged inside, a hand clamped over his mouth _ _ , stopping him from crying out.  _

_ “Sirius.” _

_ The voice echoed around the room, _ _ calling him, pulling him further into the room. _

_ “Sirius. You have disobeyed me once again. I told you to watch your brother.” _

_ The voice got closer and closer until Sirius could see  _ _ an outline of a person in the blackness. They were  _ _ holding some rope and Sirius instantly knew who it was, and what they were going to do.  _ _ He tried to run, but the rope had coiled around his middle and tied him in place. His mum _ _ ,  _ _ Walburga _ _ , _ _ walked up to him and she looked furious. _

_ “How DARE you disobey me again. You know the price.  _ _ First me, then  _ _ Orion, if you would _ _ , _ _ ” _ _ She beat him using her bare hands. _

_ Another person, his father _ _ \- Orion _ _ , walked up to him and hit him  _ _ over and over again _ _ on his back with a whip. It cut into his skin and left him bleeding and crying. He sobbed and sobbed, begging to be released, but his parents ignored him _ _. _

_ “Regulus!” _ _ Walburga called. _

_ A boy who looked much like Sirius appeared, and he sneered at Sirius, turning to Walburga. _

_ “Yes Mother?” He asked. _

_ “Regulus, you know what to do,” Walburga said, pointing to Sirius. _

_ “No. No, Reg please don’t,” Sirius cried, but Orion slapped his face,  _ _ silencing _ _ him. _

_ “You will not speak boy!” He roared. _

_ Regulus nodded at his mother and walked up to Sirius. He smirked, an evil, ruthless smirk and raised his leg, kicking Sirius hard in the face. He continued to abuse  _ _ Sirius until Sirius was too weak to stand. Then his family laughed at him and disappeared in a haze of black smoke _ _. _

Sirius  woke up with a muffled scream and sat up in bed, panting and sweating, tears falling fast down his face. He winced  as he came to his senses and realised where he was.

‘I’m in hospital because I got run over when saving Remus. I’m not there . I was never there. It was just a nightmare,’ He reminded himself as he counted to twenty, trying to calm himself down. It worked and when he was calm, he lay back into his pillows, sighing. He turned to  look at the small clock and groaned when he saw the time. It was  6 : 55 , which meant the night shift was over and the morning  started  5 5  minutes ago . He knew that  Dr. Robins , Lex, would come and check up on him at 7, like she always did when he was in hospital, and he didn’t think he could face talking to anyone after that nightmare.

He knew the hospital’s routine like the back of his hand as he had spent many a night here and made too many trips too count.  Lex  always gave him a  badge when was discharged, and he stopped counting his badges when he reached 300 , and now he had to have at least 600 . The last badge he got, was just over a year ago, after he had been disowned. His family had beaten him within an inch of his life then kicked him out. He had gone to Alya’s and she had taken him straight to hospi tal. 

He  looked up at the door when he heard it open and dropped his head again as he saw it was Lex. He winced when his head came into contact with the pillow .

“Morning Sirius,” Lex said cheerfully, and she came over to him. She frowned when she took in his tear stained face and sat on the bed next to him, “ Heya , you okay ?”

“Had a nightmare. I was back there, and they beat me. Like they used to do, with the whip,” Sirius mumbled , “Except this time, Reggie beat me too. He used to when Walburga forced him, but this time, he  did so much worse and Walburga didn’t even have to force him,” Tears fell from Sirius’s eyes  as he explained, and he didn’t bother to wipe them away. 

“Oh love,” Lex said, and she took Sirius’s hand, smoothing his hair back from his face, “Do you know why you had the nightmare? You haven’t had one in eight months, so I’ve gathered from Alya. ”

“Yesterday morning. A boy ran into me at college.  I fell back and he and his gang pushed past me and kicked my sketchbook down the hall. It was nothing compared to what they used to do, but it reminded me ,” Sirius  replied, and he sniffed, “I’m a mess.”

Lex laughed at this and she squeezed his hand.

“Yes , you are. Come on. I’ll help you sit up we will wash your face here  then we can  c heck out your head and side, alright?” 

“Lex, I’m not five ,” Sirius said and they both chuckled at that.

“Alright Mister Seventeen-Year-Old,” Lex grinned, “Let’s just sort you out.”

The morning passed quickly and when Sirius had a moment to himself before Alya came to visit him, he pulled out his phone and saw one new text from a contact called ‘Remus  :).’ He was curious so he opened it and smiled when he read it. He sent one back to Remus:

** Haha ** **. Hi Remus. It’s all cool and I would be glad if you came to visit. Alya will be here  ** ** in a minute ** ** and idk how long she will stay bu ** ** t it would be nice if you came. Have a good day and I’ll see you  ** ** later. **

Just as he put his phone away, Alya came into the room with two doctors, who he recognised as Harry and J ason.

“Hi Ally, J ason , Harry,” Sirius smiled at the three.

“Hi Sirius ,” J ason  said, “We need to use your room, so we are moving you to the ward just down the corridor. Lex knows and so do the other doctors. It okay if we move you now?”

Sirius nodded and Alya grabbed his bag before Harry and J ason wheeled him to  his new ward. There were few people in it and he and Alya settled down instantly, chatting quietly. Sirius told Alya about his nightmare and s he pulled him into a loose hug as his side was still hurting.  Then Sirius remembered that Remus was coming soon and didn’t know about the room change, so he sent him another text:

** I’ve been moved so I’m not in the room ** ** I was in yesterday ** **** ** anymore. I’m in the ward at the end of the corridor. ** **** ** It’s got blue and yellow doors I think.  ** ** They’ll probs tell you this at reception but oh well  ** ** hehe ** **.  **

He put his phone back in his bag and sighed, lying back into his pillows.

“You okay Siri?” Alya said, rubbing his arm.

“My head hurts,” He admitted, “And I’m hungry. I ate lunch and  breakfast, but you know that the food is horrible , so I didn’t eat much .”

“Well,” Alya smiled, “Luckily, I have bought some sandwiches and biscuits. I haven’t eaten lunch as  I came here as soon as I finished my shift at the coffee shop this morning and I snaffled some food from there.”

“Thanks Ally,” Sirius took the food and ate it, smiling gratefully, “How is the shop?” He asked in between bites of food.

“It’s good. Our customer rates have gone up and I’ve just employed two new  people who are very nice ,  and I think they will be a perfect addition to the team,” Alya said, smiling . 

The two talked some more about Alya’s coffee shop, the Leaky Cauldron, and Alya had just told a hilarious joke and the y were laughing when someone called out and stuck their head around the curtain. 

Remus.


	7. Remus-4

Tuesday’s were even worse than Mondays. Remus had triple  history in the morning, and sports practice in the afternoon. Today was no better, for although he had gotten out of sports practice to go and visit Sirius,  his history lesson was made so much worse by the fact that he couldn’t concentrate on a single thing Mr.  Binns said as he was too busy thinking about Sirius.

By the end of the lesson, he hadn’t taken down a single note, so he caught  Lily’s arm  and pulled her aside as they left the classroom. He and Lily had become mutual friends after the incident yesterday  in the corridor ,  Remus hadn’t done anything to hurt Sirius and he had checked to see if Sirius was okay.

“Hey Evans,” He said, “Can you send me a photo of the history notes you took  later? I wasn’t concentrating .”

“Sure Lupin,” Lily said, and she smiled at him, “Hey, if you’re going to meet Sirius later, can you tell him that me, Marlene, Dorcas and Alice will visit him tomorrow but right now we have lots of work to do and just can’t fit it in. ”

“Course. See  ya ‘round Evans,” Remus winked at her and wandered off towards the study  hall as he had a couple of hours before he was going to visit Sirius, so he decided to get some of his homework done. 

He finished his homework at 1:45 and decided that it was okay if he went to the hospital now, even if he would be a little early. He checked  his phone for any new messages, and he saw several, but the one that stuck out was one from ‘Sirius <3’. He smiled as he read it, feeling happy that Sirius had cared enough to mention his room change.  Remus left the library and got on his motorbike, speeding down the roads towards the hospital and he arrived at 1:57 precisely .

He walked into the main reception and up to the desk, where a man sat. The man smiled at him and Remus smiled back.

“Hi. I’m here to visit Sirius Black.”

“Of course. Ward  ten . Down the corridor, turn left and it’s the blue and yellow doors at the end,” The man said.

“Thanks,” Remus replied , and he wandered  down the corridor towards ward ten. He pushed open the doors and the  young  nurse on duty smiled at him. He grinned back and walked over to her.

“Hey. I’m visiting Sirius Black. Which bed is his?” He asked.

“He is third one down on the right. He has another guest with him  at the moment , do you want to wait here for a moment?” She smiled saucily and Remus fought the ur ge to roll his eyes. She seemed to be checking Remus out, and Remus didn’t blame her. He knew he was fit in his leathers and bikers gear. He took a deep breath in and stopped himself from laughing at her.

“No thanks. They won’t mind,” He said, and he walked to the bed the nurse had pointed out. There was laughter coming from behind it and he bit back a grin as he stuck his head around the curtain.

“Hey.”

“Remus!” Alya said, and she stood up, hugging Remus, who hugged back gladly. He loved hugs, and Alya was very good at hugs.

“Hey Remus,” Sirius said, and he looked shyly up at Remus, “How are you?”

“I’m good. Bit tired. You are so lucky you don’t have to sit through  Binns’s lessons. They are so goddam DULL!” Remus exclaimed, flopping dramatically  into a plastic chair next to Alya. Both Sirius and Alya laughed at him and he grinned back.

“Yeah, Lily told me it was hell. She says that Potter sits next to her and tries everything to distract her, but she ignores him,” Sirius giggled slightly then winced, putting  a hand to his head, closing his eyes as he massaged his head.

“You okay love?” Al ya asked.

“Yeah. Head fucking hurts,” Sirius mumbled.

“Shall I get Lex?” 

Remus was surprised that Alya didn’t even blink when Sirius swore. But then again, she had lived with Sirius since he was sixteen , so she might’ve gotten  used  to it . Remus zoned out for a moment while Alya and Sirius whispered between themselves, arguing  whether or not to get Lex. Remus recognised that name, then he realised that Lex was one of the doctors he had overheard  talking about Sirius  yesterday. He frowned, then he suddenly remembered what Lily had told him to tell Sirius.

Sirius and Alya had stopped their whispered argument and Alya  was looking reproachfully at Sirius , who was looking smug , so Remus assumed that Sirius had won, and they weren’t going to go and get Lex.

“Sirius, Evans told me to tell you that her, Alice, Dorcas, and... Shit I’ve forgotten her name. It began with an M,” Remus said, furrowing his brow, trying to remember the name of the other girl.

“Marlene?” Sirius said.

“Yes , that’s it. Lily, Alice, Dorcas and Marlene are  gunna come visit tomorrow. They can’t right now as they all have loads of work , but they will  definitely come tomorrow ,” Remus said, and he grinned  at Sirius, who’s eyes lit up at the mention of his friends.

“Good. I miss them . I know it’s only been a day, Ally, but they are my best friends,” Sirius crossed his arms and  pouted at Alya, who laughed.

“ Of course, love,” She said, reaching out to ruffle Sirius’s hair.

Remus then took a moment to survey Sirius, his eyes quickly sweeping over Sirius’s torso. He noticed the scars on Sirius’s arms , neck and face , and that made him think about the conversation he had overheard between Lex and Jason yesterday. He wondered what scars lay under his hospital gown on his chest and back. He didn’t think too much about it though, as Sirius turned back to look at him with an eyeroll in Alya’s direction, who laughed and swatted at him.

“What A-Levels did you take , Remus,” Alya said to him, giving up on Sirius, who was laughing.

“English, history and music. Though I’m regretting taking history,” Remus replied, rolling his  eyes and giving Sirius a lopsided grin , “What did you take, Sirius?”

“Art, history of art and media studies. I want to be an artist when I grow up and I’m going to go to art college after I ’ve done my A-Levels,” Sirius’s eyes seemed to shine as he talked about art, and it made Remus’s heart swell.

“Sounds like you love art,” Remus said, and Alya groaned.

“Remus no. Don’t get him started. He’ll never shut up,” She warned.

“Hey!” Sirius pouted and pretended to be cross ,  but he failed to hide his grin .

The three spent  the next hour  together, laughing and chatting about whatever topic came into their heads. When it turned  half past three, Remus said he really needed to get going. Alya gave him a hug and Sirius also held his arms out for a hug. Remus smiled down at Sirius and bent to give the boy a hug.

The hug was warm and welcoming, like nothing his mum or dad had ever given him. It was even better than Alya’s hugs. He didn’t want it to end and both boys seemed to linger in the hug for just a moment  too long, before Remus reluctantly let go, saying he had to go and meet his friends after he had bailed on them yesterday.

For the rest of the day, all he could think about was Sirius.


	8. Sirius-4

Holy fuck.  Remus. Remus had come to visit. Remus had smiled at him and had laughed with him and Alya. Remus  had wanted to be there and had enjoyed being there, in the hospital with him  and Alya .

Bad-boy Remus Lupin had called the ambulance. Cool-kid Remus Lupin had come with him to hospital. Heartthrob Remus Lupin had stayed through his surgery and visited the next day.

Remus was all Sirius could think about after the visit. The image of the tall boy revolved around his head. He couldn’t get Remus’s fucking smile out of his head. The way Remus had looked at him when he came in, he looked like he  actually cared about Sirius. 

Sirius had loved having Remus there. Not that he didn’t love Alya, but Remus made the hospital  seem brighter whenever he was in it. The smile he gave Sirius, the way he laughed, his fucking curls. Everything about him was beautiful and bright and perfect.  He made Sirius’s world so much  l ighter. He couldn’t get Remus out of his head for the rest of the day, and  it was driving him insane.  _ Remus  _ was driving him insane.

He was in a bad mood when Lex came in that evening to check up on him and grumbled at her. She noticed, and once she had finished her  check-up , she sat next to him on his bed and folde d her arms, looking expectantly at him.

“What?” He said, staring defiantly back at her.

“You are in a bad mood and you are going to tell me now right now or I’ll get Tyler to do your check tomorrow,” Lex replied .

“Hey, no fair! You can’t  blackmail a patient! And you know I hate Tyler ,” Sirius  whined, and Lex laughed at him.

“So, tell me what’s up. I know you and you are going to tell me.”

“Fine,” Sirius threw her a killer glare, but he told her anyway. 

He told her all about Remus.  How perfect Remus was, how his hair was amazing and looked so soft, how his laugh made Sirius’s heart flutter, how his smile was a genuine smile, how he looked like he cared about Sirius and how good he looked in his biker's gear. Sirius spent a whole seven minutes explaining all of this to Lex, and she just sat and listened, nodding in all the right places, and by the time Sirius was finished,  she understood exactly what was going on inside his head.

“You love him,” She said, smiling down at the frustrated boy.

“Yeah, I bloody well do, and he doesn’t love me back. He just thinks of me as this poor boy who got hit by a car while saving his life.  I’m pathetic.  Practically e very girl in the school has a crush on him. He will pick one of them and forget all about me,” Sirius grumbled.

“Well, he obviously won’t forget about you . He stayed yesterday after your surgery and he visited you today.  I saw him yesterday while he was waiting with Alya after your surgery. He looked so worried about you and half the time; he wouldn’t let go of your hand.  I heard him talking to Alya while  I was monitoring you, and he sounded proper concerned about you ,” Lex looked down at Sirius, who was staring at the ceiling, his face clouded with emotions, “Love, don’t worry about it. When you get out, why don’t you ask to meet him for a coffee date or something.”

“I can’t do that! He is Remus fucking Lupin! The coolest kid of Hogwarts. The heartthrob of the college. I can’t just walk up to him and say ;  ‘hey Remus, want to come and get coff ee sometime?’ can I? ” Sirius wailed.

“Okay, okay,” Lex sighed and brushed some hair out of Sirius’s face, “Well let’s not think about it now. Let’s think about this: You are being  discharged tomorrow. Alya is coming to pick you up  at ten . ”

It took Sirius a moment to process this information as he was still focused on Remus , but when he had, he yelled and pulled Lex into a hug. Lex laughed, hugging Sirius back and grinned at him.

“Alright there’s the Sirius I know. Anyway. I’ll see you tomorrow for final checks and to give you rules and stuff before you go. See you,” Lex grinned and got off the bed.

“See you Lex. And thanks,” Sirius smiled as he burrowed under the covers of his bed. Once he knew Lex was gone, he reached out and grabbed his phone from his bedside table, needing to send his friends a text:

** Heyyyyyy ** ** GUESS WHAT!!! I’m being discharged tomorrow at ten!!!!!! I don’t think I’ll come to college tomorrow, but please can you guys come to mine after lessons and we can wa ** ** tch a movie or whatever. Love  ** ** youuuuuuuu ** ** <3 **

He then thought for a moment, before sending one to Remus:   
(Remus’s texts are in _italics_ and Sirius’s texts are in **bold** )

** Hi  ** ** ummmm ** ** so I just wanted to say thanks again for coming to visit. Also, I’ve been discharged! Alya is picking me up tomorrow at 10 ** **. :). **

It was only a matter of moments before Remus replied to him.

_ WELL DONE THAT’S AMAZING!!!!!!!!! And it’s okay. Will you be at college tomorrow? _

** I don’t think so. Ally will want me to stay home probs. But I’ll be back day after. **

_ Dam :(. But still yay that you’re out! _

** Thanks :). **

_ No worries. I gtg. Am in music and prof _ _ i _ _ s staring at me........I’ll see you when you get out. Byeeeeeee _

** Bye ** ** :). **

Sirius smiled and rolled onto his side (the side that wasn’t sore) and  closed his eyes. It was boring at the hospital without any visitors, so when he was there, Sirius spent most of his time sleeping, or reading, but today he was tired and just wanted to sleep. 

_ When he awoke, the hospital was deserted. No-one was around and it was cold. Sirius could see his own breath, and he pulled a jumper on over his head. _

_ “Hello?” He called, getting out of bed to search for someone, “Lex? Ally? Jason?” _

_ There was no reply, only the sound of footsteps echoing down the corridor. Coming towards him. T _ _ he door before him swung open, and into the room, stepped a familiar figure. It was a boy, with brown curly hair and a leather jacket, stained red with blood. Behind him, another, shorter figure came in, a girl with  _ _ short black hair and ripped jeans. The two people advanced towards Sirius and Sirius found himself  _ _ stuck to the floor, like a spell had cursed his feet to stick to the floor. _

_ “Sirius. I can’t believe I helped you. I should have just left you to die _ _ in the car park. You’re worthless and pathetic. I can’t believe you,” The boy was so close, and Sirius could  _ _ tell who it was, Remus, “You are utterly useless, and you are just a pathetic coward. _ _ I will never love you. _ _ ” _

_ “Remus-” _

_ “Oh, be quiet boy,” The girl, _ _ or rather woman as _ _ Sirius could tell it was Alya, came and stood next to Remus, “I agree with him. Why I took you in, I have no idea. I should _ _ have _ __ _ dumped you at an orphanage _ _ or left you to die. You don’t deserve anything, you pathetic boy.” _

_ Remus and Alya started to back off then, smiling evilly at something behind Siri _ _ us,  _ _ whose _ _ blood ran cold when he heard a  _ _ familiar  _ _ voice behind him. _

_ “Alya! Thank you for calling me. I see why you did. I shall deal with him now.” _

_ Sirius turned around to see Walburga stood behind him, holding a knife. She grinned wickedly at him, raised the knife, and thrust it straight through Sirius’s heart. _

He woke again , sweating and panting,  and he was in total darkness. He didn’t trust anything, so he waited for a moment, before he heard breathing from the other people on the ward, the n he let himself breathe and relax. He curled up into a small ball, and pressed his  hand to his heart, which was beating rapidly. 

“Fucking hell,” Sirius whispered to himself. He curled up tighter,  lying in the blackness, listening to the sounds on the ward .  H e didn’t  get any  sleep  that night . 


	9. Remus-5

The moon was bright as Remus lay on his back in the garden, staring up at the stars, a cigarette between his lips, his j umper wrapped tightly around him , not a care in the world. It was at times like these when Remus felt free and he could just let himself be without anyone else around hi m.  He didn’t feel trapped by the gazes of the girls that stared at him in the college corridors, he didn’t feel overwhelmed by the standards he had to live up to. He felt free and open, staring up at the stars and the sky that stretched on forever, f ur ther than your wildest dreams could imagine. And he could let himself be. He could just be, without having to please anyone , he could be himself.

As he watched the night sky, he let hi s  mind wander, and, as they so often did nowadays, his thoughts came to rest on a  particular boy . A boy with long black hair tied back in a messy bun, a pale-yellow fuzzy jumper, a paintbrush tucked behind his ear. He was perfect. Remus let his mind imag ine Sirius lying next to him, curled up with his head resting on Remus’s chest while Remus had an arm wrapped around Sirius’s shoulders, pulling him closer.  He wished that that was a reality. He needed to feel the smaller boy curled up next to him, he needed to hear Sirius’s laugh as they chatted quietly, he just needed Sirius. 

He made a frustrated noise and blew out a cloud of cigarette smoke, pulling his phone out  of his grey joggers to look at the texts he and Sirius had exchanged earlier that day.  He smiled as he read them, his heart bursting with emotion for Sirius: Happiness, gratefulness, and that other emotion that was clouding his mind after meeting Sirius. 

It was a strong emotion, and Remus could feel its pull whenever he was with Sirius, or whenever he thought of Sirius. It was a desire to be near the boy, to hold him and kiss him . A desire so strong, R emus had to fight the urge to get up and go and visit Sirius right then and there.  It had filled his body, from his toes to the top if his head,  consuming his mind. He had never experienced this emotion before, or if he had, he never had it this strong. It was like there was something tugging on his heart , compelling him to think about Sirius. His heart felt empty without the smaller boy, and whenever he was near Sirius, his heart was full and bursting with... 

‘Oh crap,’ Remus thought as he finally realised what the emotion was. There was no point in denying it, he was well and truly fucked.  He knew he had to talk to someone, anyone, so he pulled up his phone and called Frank, who was very good at this kind of stuff.

Remus(R): Frank?

Frank(F): Hey mate, what’s up? It’s two in the morning and you called?

R: Well you don’t sound very asleep.

F: Fairs. I was doing my biology essay that’s due in today hehe.

R: Oh okay.  So , I  kinda need your help.

F: Oh yeah? What’s up?

R: I’m fucked. There’s this boy, and I’ve fallen in love. He is amazing, and cute and perfect and I love him so much.

(Remus continued to explain everything to Frank and Frank, like Lex did for Sirius, just listened.)

F: Wow Re. You’ve got it bad. Might I ask, who is the wonder boy you speak so highly of?

R:  Er ... You won’t like this, but it’s Sirius, the boy Jamie ran into a couple of days ago . He saved me from getting run over and that’s when I fell for him.  AND I DID SOMETHING AMAZING YET STUPID AND HELP

F:  A hhh shit what did you do?

R: I ASKED HIM FOR COFFEE AND HE SAID YES AND WE ARE GOING AND AAAAAAAAA

F: W ell......That’s a good thing right?

R:  Yes but stilllllllll

F: Jesus you’re weird. Re, it will be fine. You will be fine. Just chill and relax and be yourself, okay?

R: Okay, okay I got it, cheers Frank,  haha .

F: See you later mate

R: Bye

Remus hung up and threw his phone to the side , taking a long drag of his cigarette . He rubbed a hand over his face and sighed. Remus Lupin was in love. And he was in love with a cute,  shy,  fuzzy-jumper-wearing, artist. Does this happen? Do bad boys fall in love with  soft boys ?  Well , apparently, it does happen, else Remus would not be  out in the garden at two am smoking.  His mind was buzzing with thoughts, suggestions and what ifs and he was finding it very hard not to scream . H e gritted his teeth and put out his cigarette , crushing it in his gloved fist before he stood up and made his way back into his  room . 

As he collapsed down onto his bed, he decided to send one final text:

** Hope you are okay I’ll see you soon :). **

He went to sleep happy that night, dreams filled with the image of the small, black-haired boy, and when he woke up the next morning, a smile was engraved into his face.


	10. Sirius-5

Lily, Alice, Marlene and Dorcas were all waiting at the door after their classes, armed with a wide selection of movies and Sirius’s favourite chocolate , ready for an amazing afternoon of friends , movies and chocolate. 

When Lily rang the doorbell, Alya answered it instantly and sighed with relief when she saw the girls.

“Oh , thank the Lord you’re here,” She said, ushering them inside, “Come in, Sirius is in the living room. Bes t be careful, he’s not allowed to over -exert himself. Just go on through,” She smiled at the girls as they went into the living room .

“Heya Siri,”  A l ice said, sitting down on the floor in front of where Sirius was sat, “How you  feeling ?”

“Hi guys. I’m  okay. Head’s a b it sore but otherwise I’m okay.  Whatchya got there, Marls?” Sirius said, eyeing the  bag on her  lap. Marlene grinned and in response, she opened the bag and emptied it of its  contents onto the floor in the middle of the circle they were all sat in. 

“Chocolate and movies,” She said, grinning at the group.

“MARLS YOU’RE THE BEST!” Sirius yelled , and he tugged Marlene’s hand, pulling her into a fierce hug.

“Oi!”  Alice protested, “We were involved too  ya know?” She folded her arms and pouted in mock anger until Sirius insisted that they have a group hug . After the girls had detached themselves from Sirius and had placed themselves around the small living room, Alya came in, holding a tray of hot chocolate and biscuits.

“ Don’t give me all the ‘Alya we’re seventeen!’ nonsense else I will skin  ya ,” She said, her eyes shining as she put the tray on the coffee table, “Have a good afternoon, ” She smiled and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

“Thanks Ally!” Sirius shouted after her, “So, which movie shall we w atch ?”

“This one,” Dorcas said from her position strewn across Marlene’s lap. She held up a film that Sirius had never seen before ‘Kill Your Darlings’ and there was an enthusiastic ‘yes’ from Alice and Lily. 

“Sure,” Sirius shrugged, “I’ve never seen it. Is it good?”

“Oh darling,” Marlene scoffed at him, running her hands through Dorcas’s hair,  “It is amazing. D and I watched it a few months ago on one of our dates. Trust us, it’s really good.”

The five friends were soon all captivated in the magic of the film, following the characters on their story. Sirius found the whole story  fascinating, and for a whole two hours, he was distracted from Remus and he was just having fun, watching a movie with his friends. 

After the movie ended, Lily and Alice had to go home, so that left Sirius, Marlene and Dorcas in the living room , and Sirius needed their help.

“I’m in love,” He proclaimed in the middle of the conversation, causing  Dorcas to stop mid-rant and stare at him, “What? Can’t a guy be in love?”

“Oh my... SIRIUS YOU BETTER TELL ME WHO IT IS RIGHT NOW YOU LITTLE SHIT!” Marlene screamed and scrambled forward, putting her hands on the arms of Sirius’s chair so the two were  nose to nose and eye to eye. 

“Oh,” Dorcas said, her eyes gleaming, “It’s bad boy, isn't it? The Remus Lupin you were staring at a couple of da ys ago. You ARE in love!”

“WHAT! My  _ girlfriend _ knew. But not me? HOW DOES THAT WORK?” Marlene looked back and forth between a blushing Sirius and a smug  Dorcas .

“ Oops?” Sirius said, smiling weakly.

“Yeah ‘oops’” Marlene gave him a mock glare then turned around and sat on the floor in front of the sofa, her head leaning against Sirius’s legs, her arm exten ded towards Dorcas, who smiled and snuggled into Marlene, her head in the crook of Marlene’s neck.

“So, I need your help,” Sirius continued.

“Help?” Marlene echoed, confused.

“ Yes, help you idiot. I have no idea what to do  ‘coz he’s Remus fucking Lupin, the coolest kid in college and I’m Sirius fucking Black, the art nerd and looser. What am I  gunna do?” Sirius wailed, sinking back into the pillow on the sofa.

“Oh love,” Marlene snickered, “You’ve got it bad.”

“Yeah no fucking way. How clever you are Marls,” Sirius said, rolling his eyes. 

“Oi! Don’t talk to my girlfriend like that,” Dorcas said, punching Sirius’s leg lightly, grinning.

“Shush my love,” Marlene said, kissing Dorcas’s forehead, “It’s okay. He’s just grumpy ‘coz he’s in love.”

Sirius narrowed his eyes and tugged Marlene’s hair, “Shut it or help me,” He said to her.

“All right lover-boy,” Marlene rolled her eyes and grinned, “Do you talk to him?”

“Yes. A bit. He came to the hospital with me and visited yesterday. And we texted a bit,” Sirius said.

“WELL THERE YOU HAVE IT!” Dorcas yelled, making Sirius and Marlene jump.

“Wha-”

“He came with you to hospital, stayed through your operation and visited you yesterday. AND, on top of that, he texts you. Sirius, ask him out.”

“No,” Sirius said stoutly, folding his arms, “What if I get rejected? I’m a quiet, shy  art  nerd. I don’t ask out badass cool kids. It doesn’t happen.”

“Oh , for God’s sake  you stupid  git. Fine. Sit around and be moody. But not around me, please. Now,  we have to go, I am so terribly sorry , but I promised mum  we would be home by ten.  S ee you  tomorrow at college,” Dorcas stood up, pulling  Marlene with her, and she kissed Sirius’s cheek and ruffled his hair, “You will get there, I promise Siri . Text him ,” And Marlene nodded. She  squeezed Sirius’s hand and followed Dorcas out of the door, shouting goodbye at Alya and leaving Sirius to w allow  in his thoughts.  After ten minutes of sitting in silence staring at the wall thinking, he decided to follow Dorcas’s advice and text Remus. It was only  quarter to ten , so he hope d Remus would still be awake.

(Remus’s texts are in italics and Sirius’s are in bold) 

** Hey. You awake? **

_ Sure am. Just finishing off a story for English. _

** Oohh ** **. What’s it about? **

_ A _ _ quiet boy who falls in love with a cool kid and struggles to come to terms with his sexuality and  _ _ is too shy to talk to anyone so when he gets beaten up by some bullies the cool kid comes and helps him and from there it’s all fluff and cuteness of two boys who fall in love. _

** That sounds so cool! Can I read it when you’re done? **

_ Yeah, ofc! I’ll send it to you when it’s done. _

** Cheers **

_ So,  _ _ whyd’ya _ _ text me? _

** Oh... Was bored and wanted to talk to someone  ** ** hehe **

_ Aha. Well I am awake at the most random times so if you ever want to talk to me legit just text and I will answer  _ _ hehheheh _

** AHahhah ** ** cool  ** ** yeah ** ** I barely sleep  ** ** its ** **** ** funnnnn **

_ Omg  _ _ sammmmmmeeeeee _

** Hehehhehe **

_ Anyway...... I wanted to ask _ _..... _

**_ Yeah? _ **

_ Would you like to get a coffee together someday? _

** I  ** ** yeah ** ** I would love to! **

_ Okay, cool! What time can you come? _

** Saturday at 3?  **

_ Yup works for me! I’ll meet you outside college at 2: _ _ 50 _ _ and we can go to the  _ _ Three Broomsticks? _

** Okay yes that’s perfect! **

_ Cool! It’s a date _

** … **

_ I mean... It’s a meet up I... its.... It’s not a date _

** Hahahah ** ** you’re flustered I’m joking mate **

_ Oh _ __ _ haha _ _ okay good  _ _ hehe _

** Haha ** ** anyway Ally is calling me. I better go.  ** ** S’nice ** ** talking to you.  **

_ And you. I’ll probs see you at college tomorrow? _

** Yeah see you. **

_ Bye:). _

** Bye :). **

Sirius plugged his phone in in the kitchen and kissed Alya’s cheek before heading upstairs where he  jumped into bed after a quick shower. He dreamt of Remus that night; going for coffee, walking around Hog smeade shopping, sitting on the hill by the village, eating the sweets they had bought from Honeydukes. 

He woke up smiling, feeling happy, but slightly scared. He neede d  to tell Marlene and Dorcas, so that’s exactly what he  did when the two girls picked him up for college that morning .


	11. Remus-6

The days passed slowly, but soon, it was Saturday, the day of The Date. Okay, so it wasn’t an official date, but Remus didn’t know what else to call it, so it was just The Date. It  kinda was a date; two boys getting coffee, but they barely knew each other, and they were just friends. Plus, Sirius was straight. Wasn’t he? Well, Remus didn ’t know otherwise, but he knew not to just assume gender or sexuality , so maybe he did have a chance. Who knows?

It was 2:4 0 , and he was going to be late if he didn’t hurry, so he grabbed his backpack and  motorbike helmet and went round to the garage where his bike was. Boy  it  looked beautiful. Remus  took great pride in his bike, making sure it was always clean and presentable, preferably shining, and  today, it positively gleamed. Remus grinned as he climbed onto it, shoving his helmet down on his curls. He left the house and  drove through Hogsmeade , making his way to the small car park near the college.

On his way to the college to meet Sirius , he bumped into James, who was standing outside  Zonko’s joke shop, so he stopped to say hi.

“Jamie!” He yelled, causing James to look up.

“Alright Re?” James smiled.

“Always mate,” Remus said, grinning, “What you doing here?”

“I’m getting some stuff for my next prank on my  Spanish teacher. And I had to get Evans  a book from  Tomes and Scrolls ,” James said, and he held up his heavy bag. Remus quirked an eyebrow  and James blushed, “Shut up Re.”

Remus  chuckled , “Nope. Anyway, I’ve  gotta go. I’m meeting Sirius by college then we are going to the Three Broomsticks.”

“Oohh! Have fun lover boy!” James called .

“Piss off!” Remus shouted over his shoulder , but he was grinning. He wandered slowly through the streets of Hogsmeade, towards the college, and his heart nearly stopped as he saw what was before him.

Sirius, with his hair tied in a low messy bun,  a pencil tucked behind his ear,  sporting a green fuzzy jumper and  blue jeans, was leaning on the fence next to the college name plaque holding a small black book , a bag at his feet. As Remus came closer, he saw that Sirius had a small smile on his face and  he pulled the pencil out from behind his ear, causing a few hairs to fall over his face . He moved the  pencil over the paper, sketching, and his smile widened as he drew. It was adorable and Remus’s heart was fluttering as he walked closer to the other boy.

“Hey,” He said, startling Sirius, who jumped and nearly dropped his book.

“Oh, hey Remus! Sorry. I didn’t hear you coming ,” Sirius smiled again and tucked a stray hair behind his ear, oblivious to the fact that Remus was about to spontaneously combust with a cuteness overloa d, “ Shall we?”

The two boys walked through Hogsmeade, keeping up a steady flow of chatter, making their way  to the Three Broomsticks , where they joined the small queue.

“Hello, what would you like today?” The lady at the count er smiled at the boys.

“Hi, I’ll have a cappuccino please,” Remus said, “Sirius?”

“An iced coffee please,” Sirius answered , digging in his pocket for some money. Remus saw this and gently put a hand on h is arm.

“I will,” He muttered into Sirius’s ear, and when he pulled out his wallet from his bag, he saw that Sirius had a light blush on his cheeks and Remus hid a smile. Once they had collected their drinks, they chose to sit at a  table for two by the window so they could watch passers-by and enjoy the sunlight. 

“How’s college?” Remus asked as they sat down.

“Hard. You have no idea how much coursework I have and how much I missed when I was in hospital ,” Sirius groaned , dropping his head on the table. When he looked back up at Remus through his long lashes, Remus’s heart was just about fit to burst. Sirius gave him a lazy grin and sat upright again,  reaching out to take his drink, “You?”

“Not bad. Mrs. White has given us so much  music work and history is just hell, as Evans might’ve told you.  Binns is so fucking dull. Like, I cannot stay awake in his class. Luckily, Evans does, so she lends me her notes ,” Remus said , taking a sip of his coffee, “We  kinda became mutual friends after the  incident a few days ago. She though t I wasn’t too much of an arsehole since I helped you  and then I went with you to hospital so,  we’re cool.”

“That’s cool,” Sirius mused.

“Yeah isn’t it.”

“What’s the deal with  her and Potter?”

“He really likes her. It’s hilarious,” Remus started laughing, “ He is in love and he can’t stop going on about he r.”

“Oh wow,” Sirius laughed as well, “She hates him. Like, so much. As in, she really hates him!”

“Oh God,” Remus had to put down his coffee as he was laughing so hard. Sirius grinned shyly at him and Remus beamed back at  him , “This is amazing.”

“Ha. It is, isn’t it?” Sirius took another sip of his iced coffee an d looked out of the window . Remus took this opportunity to stare at him, taking in all the small details of his face.  The little crinkles at the corner of his mouth as a smile  had  stuck itself on his lips.  The shine in his eyes where the sunlight reflected at just the right angle.  The curls that framed his face  just perfectly. The smile on Sirius’s face grew  slightly and he huffed a sl ight laugh. 

“You’re staring,” He said, making Remus blush.

“ No, I’m not,” Remus protested.

“You’re eyes and blush say otherwise,” Sirius said.

“I... You... I... Shut up,” Remus squirmed in his seat and Sirius laughed. 

The two boys continued to sit and chat in the coffee shop for another  hour , before Remus looked at his watch and jumped.

“Shit. I didn’t realise it was this late, I was having so much fun,” He said, “I have to go , I’m so sorry.”

“It’s cool. I  have to get back as well. I need to work on my art  coursework . This was fu n,” Sirius smiled at Remus .

“Yeah, it was. Want to do it again some time?” Remus smiled back as they walked out of the Three Broomsticks and back towards the car park.

“Definitely. I would love to. Maybe sometime af ter school?” Sirius asked.

“Yeah. Whenever. What did you come on?”

“I cycled here,” Sirius gestured to his bike that was chained in the  bike rack.

“Oh cool!” Remus grinned.

“Yeah. Anyway. I better go. Thanks for such a great time,” Sirius clipped on his helmet and climbed on his bike. He seemed to hesitate before he left, then he grabbed Remus’s hand and pulled him into a hug , “Thank you Remus.”

Remus was slightly  stunned but wrapped his arms around Sirius’s waist.

“You’re welcome. See you on Monday?”

“I’ll see you then. Bye,” Sirius let Remus go and cycled out of the car park.

Remus sighed and walked over to his own motorbike, pulling on his helmet. He  really was arse over  tit in love with Sirius. He wondered, as he drove down the road, if Sirius liked him back. After all, Sirius had hugged him, and had e njoyed their time together. And to top it all off, he had wanted to go on another date! Well, non-date, as they weren’t dating.

_ Yet _ . Said a small voice at the back of Remus’s mind. Yet. They weren’t dating  _ yet _ . Hopefully, they would be soon.


	12. Sirius-6

Over the next few weeks, Remus and Sirius continued to meet up whenever they had the chance; after classes, in between classes, at the weekends, whenever was  convenient really. It really brightened Sirius’s week seeing Remus. He found  himself longing for  the small moments where he was with Remus .  He loved the time they spent together, and he enjoyed getting to know Remus a bit.  While he was with the boy, his feelings grew. His emotions were spiralling out of his control and, the more time he spent with Remus, the more his feel ings grew. He didn’t mind too much, but it hurt thinking that Remus could be straight, and wouldn’t return his feelings. However, i t was a relief when he was with Remus; a time when he could relax completely, just like he did with Lily and the others. The same could be said for Remus, so Sirius thought. 

The Remus he studied with and hung out with was a completely different Remus to the one that  swaggered around school, giving girls cheeky winks and  shouting down the corridors. That Remus was loud and cocky, one that Sirius found annoying but secretly loved , until one day.

“Hey, stop. That’s not fair!”

Sirius recognised Alice’s voice as he walked down  a fairly empty corridor by the  languages department.  She sounded upset and distressed, and there was the sound of other voices, they were lower,  quieter, and Sirius couldn’t recognise them.  He frowned and  picked up his pace, wanting to reach  Alice quickly . He rounded a corner in the corridor and almost dropped his  sketchbook in his haste to get to his friend. When he saw Alice, he stopped, both surprised and  unsurprised at what he saw. 

He saw Alice, surrounded by the Marauders, including Remus, p inne d against the wall. Her bag was on the floor a few meters away, with the  contents spil t all around the hall , obviously it had been thrown away by one of the boys. Frank and Remus held Alice to the wall, whilst James and  Peter had a hold on Alice’s German folder and were tearing all the papers and notes out, throwing them all around the  empty corridor. 

Fuck it was like  _ them _ . The time when his... When his... When  _ they  _ did that to him. Made Regulus hold him while they... Well... He felt the memories coming back to him, but  he kept the door firmly shut, not allowing them to get through. For right now, he didn’t need to have a panic attack. He needed to help Alice. 

It was only a  moment  for which Sirius was frozen, but when he came back to himself and recovered from the shock, he dumped his bag on the floor and ran over to them.

“Hey!” He screamed at them, “What the  hell  are you doing!” 

They all looked over to him, the boys slightly surprised, and Alice pleadingly .

“Oh, look. It’s Black,” Peter sneered, dropping the papers he was holding and advancing towards Sirius, “What do you want?” 

“Let my friend go and give her back her  stuff ,” Sirius said, his head held high, arms folded.

James laughed and came closer to Sirius, following just behind  Peter .

“NO!” Alice yelled, “Leave him alone!”

“Shut up!” Frank said, but it was not as harsh as usual, he was looking at Remus, who had turned pale, and they both looked worried . 

“Fuck off Black,” Peter said, “Else we will give you the same treatment as  Mandip here,” He gestured to Alice, who was struggling against Frank and Remus’s grip.

Sirius narrowed his eyes and realised that they were not going to back off. He shrugged, and before anyone else could move, he raised his leg and kicked Peter right in his crotch. Peter howled, bending over in pain and James  started .

“Let. Her. Go,” Sirius snarled at Remus and Frank, who let Alice go instantly and backed off . James looked wide eyed at Sirius and grabbed Peter’s arm, hastily retreating towards Remus and Frank , “Now  piss off and leave us alone.”

Remus looked guiltily towards Sirius, as the dark-haired boy helped Alice pick up her things then bring her into a hug, “Sirius-”

“Fuck you Lupin,” Sirius s napped , looking straight at Remus, “I thought you were better than the others. Turns out you are just as bad.  Now, leave us alone,” He turned his back on the dumbstruck Marauders and picked up Alice’s bag, putting his arm around her shoulders.

“You okay Al?” He whispered as he stopped by his own bag and grabbed it. Alice nodded her head, but s he was shaking , “You’re not. Co me on. Shall we go to the Leaky? Ally will be there, and we can get her special hot chocolate.”

“Yeah,” Alice whispered , “Sounds cool.”

“Hey Sirius.”

Sirius felt someone put their hand on his shoulder and he looked up into Remus’s face. He scowled and pulled away.

“Leave us alone.”

“No. Sirius please listen,” Remus said, reaching out for Sirius again.

“No. Now kindly fuck off before I make you regret you ever even  looked at Alice,” Sirius said, glaring at R emus, before he and Alice walked down  the corridor, leaving behind them the four Marauders .

“Fuck them,” Alice said, her voice less shaky, and she hoisted her bag onto her shoulder.

“Yeah, fuck them,” Sirius said as the two of them walked out of the college and into Hogsmeade, towards the Leaky Cauldron. When the y  arrived,  they took a seat at a small table near the counter, where Alya instantly spotted them.

“Sirius! Alice! Hi there. I didn’t know you guys were coming,” She said.

“Hey Ally. Wasn’t planning on coming, but Alice needs a special hot chocolate please,” Sirius said, smiling weakly.

“Of course. Want your usual Siri?” Alya asked and Sirius nodded, so she went to get their drinks.  Alice slumped back against her chair, while Sirius lent forwards and buried his head in his hands.

He thought Remus was okay. He thought Remus was different to James, Frank and  Peter. He thought. Ha. Looks like he was  wrong, and Remus was just like the others : a bully and an idiot.  He was just showing Sirius a fake side, a side that he wanted Sirius to see, to what? To lead him  on? No. He didn’t know Sirius was bi. What then? To mess with him? 

Well, now he couldn’t. Coz even though it hurt, Sirius had to block him out. If Remus was going to treat his friends like that, then  Sirius had to block his feeling and  ignore him. He sighed. Why couldn’t Remus just be a normal, kind bloke who wasn’t an  arse. Well, apparently , Remus wasn’t like that. 

He sat up with a sigh and looked at Alice, who was staring at her hands, which were resting on the table.

“How are you, Al?” Sirius asked, putting one of his  hands on top of hers, causing her to look up at him.

“I’m okay now. They are bastards,” Alice said shakily, and they both laughed at that.

“Yeah they are,” Sirius agreed.

“Sorry about Remus. Marls told me you liked him,” Alice said, turning her hand over so she could hold Sirius’s and Sirius laughed  half-heartedly .

“It’s okay. I’m upset he would do that, but this isn’t about me mourning over my feelings for some bloke. It’s about you  recovering by having one of Ally’s special hot chocolates,” And once he said that, Alya walked over to the two and put down a mug of tea and a hot chocolate, with whippy cream. She smiled at Alice and pulled up a chair next to them

“You okay loves?” She asked .

“Am now,” Alice said, taking a sip of her hot chocolate, “Got ambushed by those dickheads the Marauders outside my German classroom.”

Alya frowned, “What did they do?”

“ Two of them p inned me against the wall while the other two ripped up my German folder,” Alice put down her drink and  dug her folder out of her bag, placing it on the table. It was a sorry sight. The folder itself was intact, just about, but all the papers were half ripped, to rn and crumpled, as was he r  workbook , which was ripped in half. Alice’s eyes  watered at the sight of her folder , and Alya breathed in sharply. She reached out and put her arm around Alice, giving her a small squeeze.

“ You’re alright love,” She whispered in Alice’s ear, “Let’s see if we can save any of this,  shall we? ”

Alice nodded and the three of them started sorting through the paper , trying to salvage anything. At one point, Alya disappeared and came back with a roll of  Sellotape , pushing it towards Sirius, who started sticking together  bits of paper that could be saved. In the end, they had managed to save just over half of the papers and had stuck the  work book back together. 

“I can get copies of this stuff from my teacher and classmates,” Alice said, nodding towards the small pile of papers that were too damaged to be saved. 

“Alright. I’m sorry they did this to you,” Alya said, hugging Alice again as they all stood up.

“ S’not your fault, Alya,” Alice said, “I better go. See you tomorrow Siri.”

“See you Al!” Sirius said, and Alice walked out of the coffee shop.

“Siri?” Alya said, pulling him into a hug.

“Hmm?”  Sirius replied.

“ You okay?”

“Yeah. Pissed at Remus. I thought he was different.”

“Some people are just arses. Sorry about him.”

“And something else...”

“What love?”

“The way they held her back... It was like one time when my... when  _ they  _ did that to me,” Sirius’s voice was a whisper and he looked down.

“Oh love. Come here”

Sirius smiled and hugged Alya tightly. He could feel the tears forming in the corner of his eyes, so he pulled away and grabbed his bag. 

“I’m  gunna go to the studio for a bit.  Can you pick me up after you’re one here? ”

“ Of course.  Love you.”

“Love you too!” Siri us made his way  to the art studio near the  L eaky  C auldron. He dumped his bag, put his music on loudly, and lost himself in his artwork .


	13. Remus-7

Fuck. Just fuck.  They should not have picked on Alice. They should have  just  met James, then gone straight to  Honeydukes and  Zonko ’ s , leaving Alice alone . But James insisted th at they should torment her. And look at how well that had gone. Now Remus might’ve just lost Sirius. It wasn’t his fault. Okay, it  kinda was, but h e forgot  that Alice and Sirius were friends.  He only remembered they were when Sirius had come around the corner and shouted at them to get away from her. And th en it was too late. 

He groaned as he and Frank walked side by side behind James and Peter, walking down the streets of Hogsmeade towards  Honeydukes . Frank gave him a si deways look and sl u ng his arm around Remus’s shoulders.

“You’ll be alright mate. He’ll come around,” He said.

Remus looked  sceptically at him, “ Di d you see the look on his face? He looked hurt, betrayed and angry. No. Furious. He hates me now.”

“I’m sorry. We should’ve left  Mandip alone,” Frank sighed.

“Yeah. You can say that again.”

“OI! Frankie! Look!” James shouted over at Frank and pointed into  Zonko ’ s window, where there was a display of new pra nk packs, “Some ideas to make chemistry more interesting?”

“Oh , Gods yes!” Frank let go of Remus and ran towards James, “Slughorn is so boring. I should get one of the chemistry kits. He’ll hate me for  i t , but it’ll be worth it.”

The four boys  entered  Zonko ’ s and Frank ran to get one of the chemistry  prank kits, while James went to get some more  dungbombs and Peter and Remus wandered around, looking at all the  weird and wonderful jokes in the infamous joke shop. 

“Hey, Re,” Peter grabbed Remus’s sleeve, “ Wanna go to  Honeydukes early? Those two will be in here for ages and I need some sweets. And you look like you could do with some to o. Maybe some chocolate. C ’ mon .”

“ Sure , hold up a sec,” Remus called to Frank, “Frankie, me and Pete are  gunna go to  Honeydukes while you and Jamie are in here for a bit. Meet you in there.”

“Right you are! See  ya in there, ” Frank called as Peter dragged Remus out of  Zonko ’ s and towards  Honeydukes . 

***

The next few days were like hell for Remus. He rarely ever saw Sirius now. Occasionally he would see him around college, or in Hogsmeade with his friends, but  they never spoke to each other. There might be a slight nod of the head as the two a ccidentally lock eyes , just to acknowledge each other, but never any spoken words.  Remus was a mess without Sirius, and his friends could see it. They were more sombre now, whenever they were around Sirius or one of his friends , trying to leave them alone. 

Remus felt like he was missing something without Sirius in his life. He felt like there was a hole in his soul. Which was weird, as he and Sirius never dated. Maybe it was because they had been such close friends.  _ Friends _ . Remus wished  he could’ve changed that. Maybe made it  _ boyfriends _ , or _ lovers. _ Whichever. But now, it was too late. Sirius avoided him whenever he came near and refused to speak to him, or any of the other Marauders. It was hell. 

***

“Remus. Fucking. Lupin,” James ran up behind Remus and grabbed his arm, “Bloody hell mate, just... Just slow down, okay?”

Remus looked at James, one eyebrow raised, “Oh? What’s up?”

“Jesus Re,” James grinned at him, “You are... You are... I  dunno , but just...” He sighed, “Talk to  me.”

“What?”

“You are upset , and you are pissed at all of us and you are angry a lot of the time.”

“Am I?” Remus asked,  sounding sarcastic , “I wonder why.”

James scowled, “Fuck you.”

“You too.”

“Just... Listen.  I had no idea that  Mandip was a friend of Black’s . We should have left her alone. But I’m sure Black will come around. You two had a  really good friendship, so you will kiss and make up. AND! You can’t just blame us. You joined in as well. You and Frank held her back. So, don’t  put all the  blame  on  us.  It’s not fair,” James said, and Remus sighed.

“ Yeah. Sorry. I’m just extra pissed at myself for losing a friend,” He said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Hey, mate. I’m sure Black will  see sense. He likes you Re,” James said, and Remus stared at him.

“He  _ likes  _ me?” He said, eyes wide.

“Oh, fuck. No. I’m pretty sure he’s straight. Sorry,” James looked sheepish.

“Nope. It’s fine Jamie. Jesus why can’t I turn back time?”

“Mood. Anyway. You  gunna come with me, Frank and Pete  to the lake? We’ve decided to take these exams seriously so we’re  gunna do some studying.”

“Yeah sure. I could do with a distraction. Plus, I have a history essay that I could use your help with.”

“Sure! Let’s go.”

The of them left the college and made their way to the  lake . On their way, they bumped into Lily, who was stood  outside the post office, talking to a tal l , dark boy , who Remus recognised as Kingsley  Shacklebolt . When she spotted them, Lily glared at  them.

“Don’t go near any of my friends. Either of you, or the rest of your gang ever again,” She hissed .

“Something happed Lils?”  Kingsley said, stepping forward.

“No, just these two  dickheads and their gang caught Alice outside her classroom and  destroyed her German folder,” Lily said, putting her hand on  Kingsley’s shoulder.

“Yeah, about that, we’re sorry,” James started.

“Save it Potter, I don’t want your apologies, just the promise that you will stay away from me and my friends. And you,” She turned to Remus, “You have  no idea what you have done to  S irius. I will never forgive you for that. And I doubt he will either. So, both of you fuck off and leave us alone. Come on Kingsley.”

“Hurt her or them, and you will regret the day you ever stepped into that school,” Kingsley said simply, and turned away, following Lily  towards the Three Broomsticks.

“Fuck.”

James looked sideways at his friend and slung an arm around his shoulders, pulling him away from Hogsmeade and towards the lake.

“Just forget about it for now. We  have to study and you worrying about Black will not help. C’ mon.”

Remus gave in to James and walked to the lake, collapsing  next to Frank.

“You good  there mate?” Frank asked, looking at Remus, who just grunted in response, pulling out his history homework. 

“Just had a run in with Evans and that  Shacklebolt dude, Kingsley, I think his name is, anyway. Evans had a small go at u s. Wasn’t the nicest thing ,” James said, sitting by Peter and stretching out, “God, I’ve missed coming down here. We should come here more often. ”

The other three murmured their agreements and started studying their own textbooks. Remus tried to focus on his essay, but all that he c ould think about was what Lily had said earlier. ‘You have no idea what you have done to Sirius.’ It hurt him that he had hurt Sirius, but how?  How had his actions to Alice hurt Sirius? Was it because  he and Alice were  really close ? Or was it because of something else? Had it reminded Sirius of something? Remus’s mind flicked back to the conversation he overheard between the two doctors at the hospital.

_ “Oh, so it’s not the usual case?” Jason said _

_ “No. Jason, you know that he was disowned when he was sixteen. He moved in with his aunt, Alya I think her name is, and she has been his legal guardian ever since,” Lex said. _

Sirius had been disowned. Alya had told Remus that, but what had that got to do with Sirius being in hospital?  ‘It’s not the usual case’ what usual case? And what did that have to do with Sirius being disowned?

Oh.

The realisation hit Remus like a bucket of ice water.  He was an idiot. Such an idiot.  But what could he do now? Nothing. He just had  to sit back and see if Sirius would approach him. Which might never happen.

“Fuck,” He whispered, not loud enough for the others to hear. Chewing the end of his pen, be started his history work, trying to ignore the horrible feeling in the  pit of his stomach.


	14. Sirius-7

Sirius  didn’t speak to Remus at all for the next couple of weeks, and, although it was killing him, he just couldn’t bring himself to talk to Remus. Not after what he did to Alice, which made hi m remember  _ that  _ time.  It was horrible. Every time he saw Remus now, he had to turn away and walk off for fear of breaking down. Luckily, he never saw Remus that much.  Sirius wondered how Remus was. Was he okay? He hoped that Remus was okay, even after what happened in the language block. 

This was fucked up and he knew he had to spe ak to Remus soon. But not yet. Soon.

***

_*Incoming call from R*_   
_*Denied*_

‘Why is he calling me?’ Sirius thought, angrily shoving his phone back in his pocket, ‘He can’t call me. Not after wha t happened.’ He walked on towards his media studies  class and felt his phone vibrate again.

_*Incoming call from R*_   
_*Denied*_

Sirius scowled at his phone, but there were tears at the corners of his eyes .

_*Incoming call from R*_   
_*Denied*_

‘Fucking fuck,’ Sirius thought, ‘What does he want. I have class now. He can bugger off and leave me alone.’ His phone was vibrating again before he had even put it in his pocket .

_*Incoming call from R_ _*_   
_*Accepted*_

Sirius(S): Hello?

Regulus(R): Sirius ?

S: What do you want?

Sirius’s voice was cracking, even though he tried to stay strong. The tears threatened his eyes and one slipped down his cheek .

R:  I want to talk to you.

Sirius sighed, he needed to get to class and he wasn’t going to be able to if he continued this call.

S: Look, Regulus... I have class to get to now so I can’t really talk. 

R:  _ *Sarcastic* _ Oh. No time for your darling brother?

S:  Wha \- Regulus? I have classes so right now, no I don’t have time for you. And we are no longer brothers now. Or did you forget that I was disowned a year ago?

Sirius’s voice cracked and more tears fell down his face. He forgot how much he missed  Regulus and talking to him now wasn’t doing anything good for him, especially since he is no longer talking to Remus.

R: No. How could I forget. That night was a horrible night. 

S: Why are you calling me?

R: I told you, I needed to talk to you.

S: Well get on with it then!

Sirius heard the bell ring. ‘ Shit , I’m  gunna be late.’

S: Hurry up I’m  gunna be late!

R: Fuck you. You’re pathetic. ‘I’m  gunna be late’ you sound like you care. What? Do you actually care? THAT’S BULLSHIT! You never cared, not about anyone or anything. You didn’t even care about me, your o wn baby brother. 

S: I always cared-

R: SHUT UP! You never cared, then you left me with  _ them _ . All alone. I am all alone in that house and you don’t even care, coz you  left me.  Then you cut me out. No calls, no texts, no letters NOTHING! You abandoned me and left me. You  fucking bastard.

S: Reg , I didn’t -

R: FUCK YOU!  You are a coward and a horrible brother! You just ran away. You abandoned me with them. And now I have no-one, maybe some school friends, but I have no-one to protect me in that house. 

S: Fuck, Reg are they-

R: They aren’t doing what they did to you to me. They force me into doing things and they want me to go to Durmstrang and join that fucking cult that  that weirdo Tom  Riddle made. See what you left m e to Sirius? YOU SEE WHAT YOU LEFT ME TOO? You left me to suffer and now I can’t do anything.  You are a complete bastard and arsehole. I have no idea why I contacted you in the first place. I never should have. So, I hope you have a horrible life and I hope I neve r have to hear your voice or speak to you again. Fuck off out of my life.

_ *Call ended by R* _

Sirius  was frozen, tears streaming down his face, the phone still held up to his ear. He sagged against the nearest wall and fell to the floor, stunned. What the fuck had just  happened? Had Regulus just called him to yell insults at  him? Sirius’s shoulders shook and he let himself go. He let himself cry and cry, not caring if a nyone saw him, which was unlikely, since not many students came by this part of the school. Apart from one, apparently. Sirius  heard footsteps as someone made their way towards him , calling his name.

“Sirius?”

The voice was faint, laced with worry and somewhat familiar , getting closer to him each time he let out a sob. He heard someone kneel down next to  him, but he didn’t lift his head, he did n’t want whoever this was to see him properly.

“’M Fine,” He mumbled through the tears, “Leave me alone.”

“No,” The voice said, and the person moved to sit next to Sirius, leaning against the wall. There was a slight pause, then, “Want a hug?”

Sirius froze for a moment. He thought he re cognised the voice. But surely it couldn’t be... No. The two of them weren’t talking. Of course, it wouldn’t be him. But...  W hat if it was? He sniffed and lifted his head so he could see who was next to him and his heart nearly jumped out of his chest.

“Remus?”

Remus smiled shyly and lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck, “Hey Sirius. Look, I know we aren’t talking, but you are crying, and you look like you need a hug...  So. .. Would you like a hug?”

Sirius  hesitated  slightly, before, “Yeah. Please,” He lent into Remus, who wrapped his arms around Sirius’s shoulders, pulling him closer , “’M sorry.”

“What for?”

“For ignoring you. I probably should’ve talked to you sooner, but I just couldn’t,” Sirius  mumbled, wiping his eyes clear of the last tears. 

“Hey no,” Remus said, “It’s me and my group that should be apologising. We were dickheads and wanted a bit of fun. I see now that it wasn’t fun, just horrible. Is  Mandip okay?”

“Yeah. As is her German folder. Me, her and Alya fixed it up. But you lot are arseholes for doing that to her,” Siriu s said.

“I know,” Remus sighed, “I’m sorry. We should apologise to  Mandip too.”

“ Mmm ,” Sirius hummed, “You should. Anyway. I need to go. Thanks Remus.”

“No probs,” Remus said, standing up. Just as Sirius was about to walk off, he called out, “Hey, Sirius?”

“Yeah?”

“Would you... Would you like to go for a walk someday? Just to talk,  ya know,” Remus rubbe d the back of his neck again, looking all shy and cute. If someone who is wearing a studded leather jacket can look shy and cute that  is.

“Yeah. I would like to. Text me whenever. See you Remus,” Sirius called over his shoulder and made his way to the toilets to clean his face. 

He bent over the sink, water dripping down his face and he stared at his reflection, studying his face. He pulled his collar back a bit, reveal ing the top of a faded scar that ran from his neck to the bottom of his rib cage. It was a horrible scar, and that call with Regulus had reminded him of ev erything that he had shut away for so long.

“Fuck,” He whispered, rubbing his face. He dried his face and grabbed his bag, taking one last look at his reflection before he walked out and tow ards his class. He was  really late .


	15. Remus-8

** **TRIGGER WARNING** Homophobia and biphobia **

(Remus’s texts are in italics Sirius’s are in bold)

_ Hey _

** Hi **

_ Are you okay? _

** Yeah. You? **

_ Yep. Umm I was wondering.... _

** Yeah ** **? **

_ Are you free later today? Like, at  _ _ 3 _ _. _ _ 45 _ _ ish? _

** I guess **

_ Cool. Can we like...... Talk and.... yeah _

** Sure ** **.  ** ** Come to the art studio? I’m there till  ** ** 4 ** **. **

_ Yeah. Where is it? _

** You know where  ** ** Honeydukes ** ** is? **

_ Yep _

** Well next to them is  ** ** a blue door covered in flowers press the buzzer  ** ** then wait a few moments and I will let you in. Okay? **

_ Gotchya _ _. See you then :) _

** See you. **

***

_ *Buzz buzz* _

Remus stood back after he pressed the buzzer, fiddling with his fingers . He was nervous. Oh, God why was he nervous?  All he was doing, was talking to Sirius... Not that big a deal... Right?... Oh, who was he kidding. OF COURSE, it’s a big deal. He  was just going to talk  to Sirius  Black  (aka the crush of Remus Lupin) to try and make amends. This. Better. Work. 

He jumped when he heard the door open and a voice called to him.

“Remus. Hi. Come in,” Sirius said . Oh, hell no. He looked so cute! How could Remus do this? 

Seriously. He had his hair up in a low ponytail , loose strands tucked away by a  yellow headband, a paintbrush behind his ear, that was getting close to dripping  purple  paint down Sirius’s clo thes, a pallet in his hand. But, due to the realisation Remus had had after the fight, he noticed t hings about Sirius that he hadn’t noticed before.  There was  a scar along his right cheek, one through his forehead, and one  peeking out of the top of his collar . Remus supressed a shudder as he wondered what – or rather who - had caused those scars.

Sirius gave Remus a tight smile and st ood aside to let Remus in to the studio . Wow it was a cool room.  It wasn’t too big, not too small either. Just the right size.  Remus guessed that it had originally been painted white, but was now covered in an  assortment of different colours splattered  haphazardly  across the walls in  various patterns, and there was a beautiful mural  coving one wall; it was of the view overlooking the lake by Hogwarts . There were art supplies all around the room , a storage cupboard, paintings and drawings were covering one wall and there was an easel in the  middle of the room, a speaker next to it.

“Welcome to the studio,” Sirius said, closing the door and stepping in next to Remus.

“Wow. This place is cool. Is it yours?” Remus asked.

“Yeah. Used to be Alya’s  ‘till she took over the Leaky, so I  decided to use it as my  art studio,” Sirius smiled hesitantly , “There’s a stool somewhere over there if you want to sit down,” He waved his hand in the direction of the cupboard, and sure enough, a messy, paint s plattered stool was next to it. Remus grabbed it and pulled it closer to the easel, where Sirius was now stood, adding some more detail to whatever it was he was painting , “You alright?”

“Yeah. Overloaded on schoolwork. You?”

“I’m fine. Same as you, I guess. Overwhelmed in schoolwork. I get so much  work. It’s deathly,” Sirius laughed weakly and  set down his paintbrush and pallet, “ So. ..”

“Sirius, I... Fuck... I know sorry isn’t enough. And I know we were arseholes.  And I know  I can’t do much to make up for what we did, but I want to, as do the rest of us and I miss you. I miss you a l ot and I want our friendship back...  If you want it back, that is... But I am sorry. Extremely sorry and I will do anything, well... almost anything to  prove to you that I am sorry and that I want our friendship back, ” Remus  ran his hand through his messy curls, his  blood tingling with nerves. 

“ I ....” Sirius bit his lip and hesitated, before  continu ing, “ You’re right. Sorry isn’t enough.  And it’s not me you should be apologising to. It’s Alice. If she will speak to you and your group of jerks.  And I want our friendship back too. I really do but I couldn’t bring myself to  speak to you.  I know that sounds harsh, but I have my reasons, I’m sorry.”

“You shouldn’t be apologising,” Remus interrupted, and Sirius  smiled slightly.

“Yeah, I know,” He said, “But I feel  kinda bad for not approaching you.  If you  and your friends  apologise to Alice, then I am willing to give our friendship another go. ”

Remus grinned, “I will talk to them, but can you talk to  Mandip please?  Since she hates us right now.”

“Sure.  I can do that. Just, talk to her before you talk to me again, please ,”  Sirius said , starting to pack up his art stuff.

“Yeah. Okay.”

“Cool. Anyway. I’m done here so, I’m  gunna head home. See you, I guess ,” S irius  had finished packing up and grabbed his bag, heading to the door, Remus following right behind.  They  had just passed  Tomes and Scrolls when they heard a shout behind them.

“Oi! Black! Or do you truly deserve that name?”

Sirius  stiffened, clutching his sketchbook closer to his chest. Remus looked around, and saw t wo people walking towards them, Severus Snape and  Barty Crouch Jr . They were looking at Sirius, smiling nastily .

“Sod off,” Sirius mumbled .

“ Ooohh look at this Sev,”  Barty sneered, “A queer telling us what to do. We don’t take orders from queers, Black.”

“What kind of a queer even are you?” Severus said, “ Bisexual? What even is that?”

“Hey, fuck off will  ya ?” Remus said .

“What’s it to you Lupin?”  Barty looked at Remus,  his arms folded.

“Leave him out of this Crouch,” Sirius snarled, facing  Barty.

“Do you not listen Black? We. Don’t. Take. Orders. From. Queers.  Especially not your kind of queer,” Severus stepped forward, closer to Sirius.

“What’s wrong with bisexuals? ”

“Urr... Everything? You’re disgusting and what... Greedy! You want everyone. Jesus. You only get one person, not everyone!”  Barty spat.

“Just pick a fucking gender!  If you are a girl, you like boys and if you are a boy, you like girls . N o in between ,” Severus was getting annoyed now, and Remus could see Sirius  losing his fight.

“Look,” Sirius s ighed , “I’m bisexual, get over it, and there is nothing  wrong with that , or any other kind of LGBTQ person. Just leave me alone and stop hating on the community. It’s not fair and we haven’t done anything to you.”

“How dare you ,”  Barty started, “ So, you think it’s okay to disrespect your family name, be gay, or whatever it is you call yourself,  abandon your family, and your younger brother- ”

“Shut up !” Sirius cried, “Do not talk about that.”

“Why not?” Severus taunted.

Sirius stole a sideways glance at Remus before continuing, “Just... Just don’t... Please.”

“What? You don’t want your crush to find out about you and your fucked-up past?”  Barty advanced forwards but Remus stepped in between him and Sirius.

“Shut. The. Fuck. Up,” He snarled, “You have no right to a) hate on the LGBT community, b) talk about Sirius’s past when he clearly doesn’t want to , and c)  bully Sirius for his sexuality. Why don’t you just fuc k off and leave him alone?  Stop hating and get on with your own lives. Leave Sirius out of them if all you are going to do is hate  o n him.  C’mon Sirius,” Remus glared at Severus and  Barty , before turning on his heal, grabbing Sirius’s arm and pulling him away from the two boys.

“Thanks Remus,” Sirius said, shaking Remus’s hand off his arm .

“No problem. People like that are dicks. There is nothing wrong with who you love,” Remus looked down at Sirius and bit his lip, “So... Bisexual, huh?”

“Yep. No big deal. I just like girls and boys ,” Sirius said, and Remus was just about to reply, when Sirius phone rang.

Remus sighed. So ,  Sirius was bisexual, maybe they had a chance? If he apologised to Alice and built up his friendship with Sirius again.  He had realised that his feelings for Sirius had grown since he had the realisation about Sirius’s family, and since the two of them had not been speaking. He hoped that Sirius would tell him about his fami ly sometime. Remus wanted to hunt them down for hurting Sirius. It wasn’t fair that a person  as amazing as Sirius had the shittiest family ever. 

“Hey, Remus?” Sirius broke Remus from his thoughts and tucked his phone away in his pocket, “I have to go. Thanks again for that, and please talk to Alice before you speak to me again. I’ll talk to her first and text you when she’s ready , but then... Yeah... I’ll... See you ‘round... I guess.”

“Yeah. See you,” Remus smiled at Sirius and  the smaller boy walked back towards the college. He groaned and rubbed the back of his neck. 

‘Jesus Christ,’ He thought, before he  turned and walked back towards the Hog’s Head, where his friends were waiting, ‘This will be hard.’


	16. Sirius-8

** **TRIGGER WARNING** Talking about child abuse **

“Alice, hey!”

“Sirius!” Alice smiled at Sirius and slowed her pace so  he could catch up, “What’s up?”

“I spoke to Lupin yesterday. He and his gang want to apologise properly to you, if you will speak to them. They really are sorry, according to Lupin, and want to tell you in person. Will you try and talk to the m?” Sirius  said, tucking a stray piece of hair behind his ear. 

Alice sighed, “Are you sure? DO they really want to apologise?”

“They do! Lupin was really upset and sincere. ”

“Alright. I’ll give them a chance. If you’ve got Lupin’s  number, please tell him I’ll meet them at  the lake at three today,” Alice said.

“Will do. Thanks Al,” Sirius smiled and hugged Alice, before walking off towards his next class, texting Remus as he went.

** Hi. Just spoken to Alice. She is willing to meet you at the lake at 3 today ** **. **

***

** A few days later **

Sirius was nervous.  It was four pm and h e was waiting by Madam Puddifoot’s tea shop for Remus. The two were planning on getting a drink from the shop then going for a walk around Hogsmeade, to the lake an d up to the Shrieking Shack, so called for the way the wind whistle d through the cracks and holes in the walls, sounding like a person screaming. 

Alice and Remus had both said that the Marauders had apologised, and Remus had organised this. Sirius was excited but scared. He didn’t know what to say, or do , and he didn’t want it to be awkward. Though it most likely will be.

“Sirius, hi there,” Remus walked up beside Sirius and smiled, “ Wanna grab drinks?”

“Sure,” Sirius said, and they walked into the shop. They came out a few minutes later with their drinks ; Sirius – a chocolate milkshake , Remus – a  mango  smoothie , “Shall we go?”

“Yeah. The Shack. Let’s go,”  Remus said, sipping his drink. They wandered through Hogsmeade on their way to the Shrieking Shack , stopping every now and again to pe er through the shop windows .  Sirius  actually  insisted that they go into  Tomes and Scrolls once he spotted a book he wanted to read.  They decided to race each other up to the Shack and w hen they finally arrived at the Shrieking Shack, they had alread y finished their drinks and were both laughing.

“Jesus Sirius,” Remus said, “You sure can run.”

Sirius grinned at his small victory in being able to outrun Remus, “Why thank you Mr. Lupin,” He bowed and collapsed onto the grass,  smiling up at Remus , who rolled his eyes and sat next to Sirius on the ground .

“Git,” He said affectionately .

There was a pause, where both boys had to catch  their breath. Who knew running up a hill used so much energy?

“Anyway,” Remus continued, “We talked to Alice.  She was okay, just very pissed at us . ”

“Yeah. She was quite upset after. You lot can be jerks,” Sirius said.

“We know,” Remus sighed .

“Are you okay?”

“Hm? Oh... Yeah. I’m fine. You?”

“I’m good. But... I miss you. I want our friendship back,” Sirius sat up and faced Remus, “You’ve apologised to Alice, she was okay with it,  I don’t see why we can’t have our friendship back. If you want...?”

Remus was silent for a second, long enough for Sirius to wonder if he had said the wrong thing, until,

“I miss you too. And yeah. I want our friendship back too. Try again? ” Remus held his hand out and Sirius  shook it .

“ Try again ,” He grinned , flopping back onto his front, lying in the grass , “ Oh, and thanks for  when you stopped Snape and Crouch.  That was decent of you.”

“ Hey, it’s not a problem.  They were  gunna reveal your past, and I  didn’t think you wanted the,  too . And,  I don’t take kindly to people discriminating against the LGBTQ community. We are people, just the same as them. It’s not fair.”

“We?”

“Oh... I... Er...” Remus blushed and rubbed the back of his neck, “Yeah. I’m gay. ”

“Cool,” Sirius turned his head to smile up at Remus, “Thanks for stopping them.”

“No worries.” 

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment  and Sirius was having an internal crisis. Remus was gay...  So. .. They might have a  chance? Maybe?  AAHH!  And also , s hould he tell Remus about his past? Or should he not?  Maybe he should. He knew Remus well enough, and if the two of them were going to have a relation ship , he deserved to know . BUT THEY MIGHT NOT EVEN HAVE A RELATIONSHIP!  They were friends again now sure... But a relationship? As  real-life boyfriends? Jesus Christ.  Why was life so confusing? He made his decision... And he hoped that he wouldn’t regret it.  He sighed, sitting up  again  to face Remus.

“Hey, Remus,” He said, at the exact same time Remus said,

“Hey, Sirius.”

They both blushed slightly and laughed, Remus rubbing the back of his neck, Sirius playing with the cuffs of his jumper.

“ Er ... You go first,” Sirius said, smiling shyly.

“Okay, thanks,” Remus said, “Um... So, I get it if you don’t want to answer  coz, I guess it ’s  really personal , but … W hen you were at hospital ... I overheard two doctors , Lex and Jason, I think they were, and they were talking about you.  Jason was saying stuff like, ‘again? What happened this time’ and  Lex told  him  about your car accident. And  Jason said like, ‘ it ’ s not the usual case ’ and Lex said no you were disowned and live with Alya now. And... Well... I was wondering what happened? You don’t have to answer at all... And I’m sorry if I’ve-”

“Remus, hey,” Sirius cut Remus off and he was  smiling slightly, “That is what I was  gunna tell you. I figured you would find out eventually and I wanted it to come from me, haha.”

“Oh, okay,” Remus grinned encouragingly at Sirius.

“Right. Just so you know, this is a long story, and I might cry.”

“No problem. Take your time and you can stop whenever.”

“Thanks...  So. ..  My parents were ...  Are...  Not the best. T hey were very prejudice and  ya know... Racist, homophobic... Upper class arseholes. Rich and horrible. From a young age, they drilled their beliefs into me and my brother, Regulus , and expected us to follow in their footsteps. From the beginning, I was very... Opposed to their beliefs. I ha ted how they discriminated against people of colour, LGBTQ people, poorer people...  So, I started to rebel. I would hang out with the poorer kids at school, stand up against them wh en they discriminated... I wouldn’t follow them. And they couldn’t deal with that...” Sirius paused, wiping his eyes .

“They started to... To punish me... Whenever I opposed them... They would hurt me. It started as a slap, or a kick... Then it developed to a  whipping and a beating... Maybe a cut or two if I really wasn’t behaving. Sometimes... The... punishments would be so bad... I would have to go to St. Mungo ’ s . That is why  Jason said it’s not the usual case. Coz I would usually be in hospital for my  parent's beatings. The hospital only found out it was my parents doing the beatings when  I was disowned and Alya told them.  My parents  would always tell them it was school  bullies, or  I had fallen down a hill or whatever excuse they could come up with.  I have multiple scars  from the... Punishments. Anyway. They would never touch Reggie... Coz he was a good boy and did everything they said... But he hated it there. We-we both did. It was hell. A nd then...” He was now full on crying and Remus  p ut an arm around his shoulders.

“It’s okay. You’re safe here. You don’t have to continue,” He said, rubbing Sirius’s back.

“No, I-I will,” Sirius took a deep breath, “And then I came out as bi when I was sixteen, had a go at them ... Like, a  really big go at them... And they  made me go to my room and pack everything I need. They were so calm... It was terrifying,” Sirius looked so haunted, as if he was reliving his trauma.

“I did just that. I packed all my things. I had very little things. I got it all in two backpacks. Then they called me down to the living room. I had to bring my ba gs... They punished me so much. More than they had ever done, and I was surprised they didn’t kill me...  After that, I was so weak... I couldn’t move. My  mum  shoved me in the car with my bags... I didn’t even get to say goodbye to Reggie... And  s he drove off. Drove for ages. Dumped me in a field somewhere.  Told me never to come back and I was no longer part of the Black family.  I lay there ‘till I got very cold... Then  I made myself get up and I walked around with my bags... Realised I was near Hogsmeade, so I went to find Alya. Found her and she took one look at me and  took me to St. Mungo’s. I told her what had happened, and she was so upset. Decided she was  my  guardian and  looked after me ever since. .. I never got to say goodbye to Reggie,” Sirius completely broke down in Remus’s arms , sobbing his heart out while Remus rubbed his back and whispered in his ear, calming him down.

“Th-that was who I had talked to when you found me having a panic attack the other day. Reggie had called...  Jeez...  Remus...”

“Hey, Sirius. You’re alright. That was  really brave of you to share your story, and I cannot believe your parents are that shitty.  It’s not fair at all, and if I had the chance, I would go find them and kill them for you,” Remus said.

Sirius laughed weakly through his tears, “Ta mate, means a lot.”

“Anytime. Wanna stay here a bit or get back?”

“Stay here. I like it up here.”

Remus smiled as he started running his fingers through Sirius’s hair, which the smaller boy liked, “Me too. ”

They ended up staying by the Shack until night,  watching the sunset and chatting . It was an enjoy able time.

“Do this again sometime?” Sirius asked as they walked back down the hill towards Hogsmeade.

“Absolutely. I’ll see you at college. Bye Sirius!” Remus said, waving goodbye.

“Bye!” Sirius smiled at Remus’s retreating back, his heart fluttering.

‘That was a great ... Date? Was it a  date? ’ He thought on his way back home. He had cried, but it was worth it. He had Remus back.


	17. Remus-9

DAM! Remus was on such a high. He had Sirius back! And he had come out! IT WAS ALL AMAZING! Okay... B reathe... Chill...  He  practically sailed back home after their second ‘date’ and collapsed into bed that night with a smile engraved onto his face.

***

The next morning,  he awoke to his phone having a fit, pinging every five seconds with messages. He scowled and rubbed his eyes, picking it up to see:

**57 new messages from** **Maraudersssssss** **;)**   
**4 new messages from** **Siriiiiiiii** ** <3**   
**8 new messages from** **Jam** **ieeeeee**

‘Jesus Christ,’ He thought, ‘What is going on.’

He decided to go through the Marauder’s messages first, then James and Sirius. There were a lot of new messages, so he skim read them, and the  jist of it was th at they were going to  have lunch with Sirius’s group of friends at the  Hogs Head to apologise formally to the whole group for being jerks and to get to know  them better. Remus smiled at that . He couldn’t wait for that. Going  through James’s messages was basically him freaking out over having lunch with Lily Evans. It was pointless him freaking out seeing as, according to Sirius, Lily hate d James. Especially after what happened to Alice, so Remus just hoped  James wouldn’t do anything to make her  madder . 

He sent a quick text to James, telling him to chill and not do anything rash, then he opened Sirius’s texts. (The best ‘till last. Hehe. )  He was telling Remus about the lunch meet and ... And... What? 

** Can we meet 15 mins earlier. Just  ** ** u&me ** **? We can go to  ** ** the Shack again if u want. We don’t have to. S ** ** ’ ** ** up to u :) **

Wow. Sirius wanted to meet up beforehand again. AAA! YES! No. Remus chill. He quickly texted back  saying yes, but not the Shack. Could they go to  Dervish and Bangs since Remus needed to get his guitar fixed before his grade six. Sirius instantly agreed and Remus was left smiling as he drove to co llege.

The morning passed slowly, while Remus had triple English and music practice. He left his practice room with his  guitar to meet Sirius at the gates of school. He was early, so leant  against the sign, scrolling through his Instagram feed.

“Reeeeeemuuuuuus!”

He looked up, one eyebrow raised, at the call, but grinned when he saw it was Sirius.

“Siiiiiiiiiriuuuuuuuuuus!” He sang back, making Sirius laugh .

“Hey! We going to Dervish?” Sirius asked.

“Yup. Let’s go,” Remus said, pushing himself off  the sign and hoisting his guitar bag onto his shoulder, walking next to Sirius through Hogsmeade to  Dervish and Bangs. It only took ten minutes for the guitar to be fixed, and the b o ys kept up a steady stream of chatter, laughing together, careful not to mention anything about yesterday.

“Come  ooooooooooonnnnnnnn .  We need to meet the others at the  Hogs .  Reeeeeemuuuuuuus!” Sirius tried to pull Remus out of the music shop as he was  looking at guitar straps and Sirius was bored.

“Oi! I didn’t complain when you wanted to browse Tomes and Scrolls yesterday!” Remus  said, shoving Sirius playfully  while they walked out of the shop, thanking the shopkeeper and making their way towards the  Hogs Head . 

“That’s because yesterday we weren’t meeting our friends for lunch,” Sirius said matter-of-factly , and Remus rolled his eyes.

“Sod off,” He said good-naturedly. They arrived at the Leaky and saw that all their friends were their already,  making awkward small talk and sipping  their drinks.

“Dam that looks awkward,” Remus whispered to Sirius as they made their way past the table (their friends still hadn’t spotted them) and towards the till to order drinks.

“It sure does. We need to go back and break the tension,” Sirius whispered back, giggling softly. Remus loved it when Sirius giggled . His eyes and nose  crinkled, and  his mouth turned up in a smile. God, it was so cute. After ordering their drinks, they walked back to the table to meet their friends. 

“ Wassup bitches,” Sirius grinned at his friends and smiled shyly at Peter, James and Frank, who smiled sheepishly back.

“Siri! You took your time,”  Marlene  said, s tanding up to kiss Sirius’s cheek.

“Dammit Marls you’re  _ my  _ girlfriend! You can’t go around kissing everyone you want,” Dorcas pulled Marlene back down and hugged her close, while everyone laughed.

“ My deepest apologies for being so utterly irresistible,” Sirius sniggered, sitting down next to Marlene, “And it’s n ot my fault someone had to get their guitar fixed .”

“Hey! Shut up,” Remus said, s liding in next to  Peter , “Budge up  Pete .”

Peter  grumbled but budged up all the same. The tension seemed to lessen as Remus and Sirius  joined in the chatter, and everyone was more comfortable  in each other's company, laughing and bantering together.  Actually, Remus noticed that James and Lily seemed to be getting  cosy together . He kicked Sirius under the table and nodded his head subtly at the pair. Sirius looked at them, then turned and beamed at Remus.

“They are so cute!” He  whispered .

“I know,” Remus said, “I hope they get together.”

“Me to,” Sirius said.

“Oi, Lupin.”

Remus looked up to see Alic e watching him, smirking.

“Yeah?” He said.

“Hurt Sirius and you’re dead,” She smiled sweetly at him, and he blushed, whilst everyone else laughed.

“We’re not dating Al,” Sirius called.

“Uh huh. Sure,”  Frank  said, and Remus blushed even more.

“Shut up Frankie,” He mumbled and kicked Frank under the table, narrowly missing James, who was so intent on talking to Lily. Jeez. He must be in heaven. They were interrupted from their chatter by the waiter, who came and took their order. After ordering,  they went back to t alk ing, until the waiter came back half an hour later with the ir food, which they all dug into  eagerly. College life was hard, and they were all hungry teenagers who needed their food. 

“Hey. Remus. Remus. Lupin. Hey. Reeeeemuuuuuuus,”

Remus looked up at Sirius, who was grinning and nodding his head at James and Lily. The two were talking  intently and were so close together it was a wonder Lily wasn’t already sat on  James’s lap. Lily was also stealing some chips off James’s plate, since she had finished her food already. It would’ve been cute, if they were a couple. Now it was just annoying that they weren’t a couple. It seemed as if they had talked before this lunch and were quite close. All the Marauders knew about James’s  massive crush on Lily, and all of Lily’s friends thought she hated James, but apparently not.

“They need to get together. Like so bad. If they aren’t together by  the end of this week,  I will personally lock them in  the  history classroom until they are together,” Remus said, and Sirius sniggered.

“Good plan,” He said, “Oi, Lils!”

Lily turned her head towards Sirius, and the smile on her face was amazing.

“ Yo , Siri,” She said, grinning.

“Are you and  Jamie a thing yet?” Remus said before Sirius could say anything else .

Surprisingly, both James and Lily blushed, “No. James and I aren’t a thing yet.”

“You on first name terms already?” Sirius grinned, and Lily’s blush only darkened as she scowled her friend.

“I think we should all be on first name terms,” Alice said, “You guys are cool, and I’m sick of being called ‘Mandip’.”

Everyone agreed and went around the table saying their first names, and Remus and Sirius were beaming.

“Our friends are friends,” Sirius whispered excitedly,  unknowingly making Remus’s  heart beat faster.

Sirius was just amazingly cute.  His smile, his laugh, his excited whisperings. It was all too much for Remus’s heart to deal with. He was about to be overloaded with cuteness . It wasn’t fair that he and Sirius weren’t together.  James and Lily were working their stuff out and would most likely be together by the end of the week, but him and Sirius? Would they be together soon? Remus really hoped so. He wanted to hold Sirius,  braid his hair, kiss his lips , hug all his worries away. He wanted Sirius. But he couldn’t have him. Or could he?

Sirius was bi. He knew that. So, they might have a chance. If Remus could find enough  courage to ask Sirius out. ‘Embrace your inner lion’ his mother always said.  Be strong and brave. Be courageous. Ha.  Easier said than done . Sirius was beautiful and cute. And Remus so wanted to ask him out, but he just couldn’t get the words out. It was very frustrating. Not fair. 

“Aight lads,” Marlene said, getting up off Dorcas’s lap, “’ Fraid I  have to go. I have law in ten minutes. ”

“Aw sucks to be you Marls,” Sirius teased, earning himself a death glare .

“Maybe we should all go,”  James  said. Everyone agreed and stood up, making their way out of the Hogs Head (after paying of course) and back towards college.

“Cheers for that,” Dorcas said when they got to Hogwarts, “It’s nice to know you lot aren’t complete arseholes.”

The Marauders grinned. They all said goodbye and disappeared off to their classes.

“Remus,” Sirius called, “Thanks for meeting earlier. Was nice.”

“No worries. I’ll see you ‘round,” Remus said, giving Sirius a quick hug before he sped off to get to his music lesson, beaming the entire time.


	18. Sirius-9

** NOTE:  ** ** Reiny ** ** is non-binary, hence why I used they/them pronouns for them  ** ** and Tom (mentioned very briefly) is their son,  ** ** one year older than Sirius and is  ** ** Sirius’s friend **

Sirius knew if he didn’t hurry up, he was going to be late . James would murder him if he was late, especially since this was such an important day. It was  Remus’s eighteenth birthday  and they were all going bowling . There was a bowling alley near the cinema in Hogsmeade and after, they were all going to get supper at the Leaky Cauldron, as  the  food  there  was the best. It was going to be a perfect party, and everyone was g oing to love it. Weren’t they? They were all going to have a great time. Right?

Sirius couldn’t help his anxiety.  He was very nervous about Remus’s party, and he really wanted it to be amazing... After all, one only had one eighteenth birthday , therefore it had to be perfect. And if it wasn’t... Well... Sirius decided he would cross that bridge if it came to it. 

He g r abbed his bag and  phone, shoving Remus’s present into his bag and ran downstairs, kissing Alya ’s cheek on his way  to the door.

“ I won’t be at the shop later today but  Reiny should  be.  See you later love!” She called to him.

“ Okay! I’ll say hey to them.  See you,” Sirius shut the door behind him and  walked over to  the garage to get his bike and helmet. 

It wasn’t a long cycle to the bowling alley, but it was long enough for Sirius to forget everything and just focus on the  noises of nature and  the feel of speeding down the roads. Cycling was another way for Sirius to be free of the world around him. When he was feeling bad, he could just get on his bike and cycle away through the country and the village for hours. 

He arrived at the bowling alley slightly later than everyone else, and when he got inside, he saw everyone else at a lane waiting for him, chatting and laughing.  Smiling, he ordered himself a lemonade and went over to them.

“Hey guys. Happy birthday Remus,” Sirius grinned , s itting next to Frank on the bench.

“Sirius, hey!” Remus said, beaming back at him, “Glad you could come.”

“Yeah sorry I was late.”

“Na it’s no problem,” James said, “What shall we put your name as?”

“Dog boy,” Lily butted in before Sirius could say anything.

“Lils!”

“ Psh shut up Siri. You can be dog boy. Or dog star. Which is better?” Marlene said.

“Dog star ‘coz Remus is Birthday wolf boy,” Peter said.

“Okay makes sense,” James  shrugged and typed ‘Dog Star’ into the stand, causing the name to appear  on the screen above the lane.

“All ready?” Dorcas yelled, grinning round at the rest of the group.

“Hell yes!” Frank yelled back, and so the game began.

There was lots of cheering, laughing, gossiping and generally tons of fun. Everyone, it seemed, had an absolute blast and  loved it. Remus  definitely loved it. Sirius saw how his eyes sparkled with joy and his grin was so wide, it was a wonder it didn’t split his face in two.  He looked so happy. Everyone looked so happy, and  it warmed Sirius’s heart to be here, surrounded by his friends, celebrating the start of adulthood for one, being happy and free.

After the first game, everyone was on a real high, especially Peter, as he had won and was refusing to tell the others his technique, which everyone else found extremely frustrating. Peter just smirked at them and sipped his drink, lounging back in his seat.  While everyone was having a break, Sirius took this opportunity to quickly check his messages, and when he pulled out his phone, his face went white.

**3** **9** **missed calls from R**   
**1 new message from R**

‘ Oh God ,’ He thought, ‘This can’t be good.’

“Um... I ... I need to take a call,” He murmured in Remus’s ear, “I’m so sorry. Shouldn’t take  too long.”

Remus turned to face him and saw  his expression.

“Are you okay?” He whispered back.

Sirius nodded, “I just ...  Family shite ...  I’m sorry. If I’m not back by  next round, leave me out. I’m happy to watch.”

“Okay. I’m here if you need me,” Remus smiled encouragingly and Sirius got up, leavi ng the  building  to stand outside. Before he checked the message, he tried calling. He called  at least  ten times, but Regulus didn’t pick up.

“Fucking fuck,” He whispered to himself, and he opened the message.

**Sirius.**   
**Seeing as you didn’t pick up my calls, I text** **ed** **you.** **I need to speak to you.**   
**I’m so sorry. Really.** **I never meant to snap at you the other day. I was just so worked up and upset and cross that I took it out on** **you** **and I am so sorry. I cannot tell you how sorry I am. It’s not fair that I should do that.** **I had had a horrid day and wanted to speak to you but clearly my day was too bad then speaking to you just bought up a whole load of other shit and I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t leave you in too worse a state and if I did, I’m sorry** **.**   
**I wanted to tell you this.**   
**We’re moving. Me mum and dad. To Bulgaria so I can go to Durmstrang. I really don’t want** **to** **and I would give anything to be at Hogwarts with you** **but you know... Must do everything our dear parents say (note the sarcasm** **there** **big bro** **.)**   
**I’m sorry I was such an awful brother to you growing up. I know we had our fun times when we were young but when mum and dad started to get more... vicious I retrea** **ted. I so badly wanted to help** **you** **but I just couldn’t. I couldn’t bring myself to disobey our parents. I’m so** **so** **sorry** **and I understand if you hate me. If I were** **you** **I would hate me.**   
**I need to tell you that I will get a new number and will not use this one again.** **This is the last text I have sent on this number and by the time you get this I will have a new number.** **I’m not going to give you my new number** **sorry** **but I am going to put your number in my new** **phone if I need to speak to you.** **I’ll give you a code name. I’ll call you** **Star. Remember I used to call you that when we were younger and free? I miss those days.** **I miss you.**   
**Remember I love you very much even if I have been a right prick. I will** **always** **be your brother until the** **very end.** **I hope to see you when** **we are older.**   
**Love you heaps big bro**   
**Reggie xx**

Sirius had tears streaming down his cheeks after he had finished reading  Regulus’s text. It was heart-breaking. He was now gone. He had no means of contacting Regulus and no way of seeing him. It wasn’t fair. Nothing was fair and it just had to be Sirius that received all the bad luck didn’t it? It really wasn’t fair.

Sirius stayed outside for another five minutes, letting himself have a small cry, but he couldn’t completely let go now. After all,  it was Remus’s birthday and he had to focus on Remus. He could let himself go later when he was back home with Alya, but not now.

He walked quickly to the toilets and splashed his face with water, attempting  to make it seem like he hadn’t been crying. After doing so, he rubbed his face with some paper towels and stared at his reflection in the mirror. His eyes were red and slightly puffy, but it wasn’t too obvious that he had been crying. Satisfied with how he looked, he slowly walked back out of the toilets and towards  the lane where everyone else was. 

As he neared, he heard their cheers and he knew that they had started the second round without him. He didn’t mind, and when he got back, he slid onto the bench next to Remus, who looked round at him.

“You okay?” R emus said, “You don’t  look too good.”

“I’m fine. I’m with you,” Sirius replied, smiling weakly.

Remus smiled at  that but was still hesitant to accept that the smaller boy was okay, “Sirius.”

Sirius sighed and lent his head on Remus’s shoulder, “Fine, I’m not. But we aren’t talking about it, okay? It’s your birthday and it should be happy.”

“REMUS!  S’your go!” Alice called, “Oh, hey Siri. You’re back. Alright?”

“I’m good Al,” Sirius replied, flashing her a smile.

“Sorry we started without you...” She said.

“Na it's okay. I’m shite at bowling anyway. I’ll watch.”

“Okay. Come on wolf boy,” Alice turned back to Remus, “ See if you can get a strike .”

“I’m coming!” Remus gave Sirius a quick hug  and stood up to take his turn. For the rest of the time at the alley, Sirius sat quietly a nd watched the game play out, occasionally chatting to the others . Lily won this round, and as soon as she won, James ran forward and swept her up into a hug, kissing her lips. Everyone, including Sirius, cheered at them and they separated, both grinning like mad.

“ YES FOR JILY!” Dorcas yelled, punching the air.

“ Jily ?” James asked, confused.

“James and Lily. It’s your ship name ,” Frank explained.

“Oh.  S’cute ,” Lily said, tightening her grip on James.

“C’mon guys,” Peter said, smiling at the others, “ I’m hungry and the  Leaky’s food is the best.”

The others agreed and grabbed their bags, chattering together as they left the alley and walked through Hogsmeade towards the Leaky Cauldron. Sirius didn’t say anything, he walked a little behind everyone else and zoned out slightly, thinking about Regulus.

“Hey,” Remus nudged his shoulder, “What happened? You look really upset.”

“Sorry,” Sirius sighed, “Just Regulus. Don’t  worry about it. I’ll probs speak to Ally later. Please don’t worry Re. It’s your birthday.”

“I don’t care. You’re upset.”

“It’s okay. I promise I’ll talk to Ally.”

Remus sighed and hugged him tightly, “Alright.  S’long as you do speak to Alya. I’ll murder you if you don’t.”

Sirius laughed and the two of them followed everyone else into  the Leaky Cauldron. They sat around a table  near the window and had a look at the menus on the table. After about five minutes, a waiter came over to them, smiling.

“Hey there,” They said, “You ready to order?”

“Hi,” Marlene said, “Yeah we are.”

“Alright. I’ll take your drinks and mains if that’s okay,” They said, pulling out a pad. Everyone ordered, and just as the waiter took Sirius’s menu, he exclaimed.

“Reiny!”

“Sirius! Hey! ”  Reiny -the-waiter grinned , and Sirius grinned back ,  “ How are you?”

“I’m good. You?” Sirius noticed Remus glare at him, but he ignored it.

“I’m great. I’m interrupting you all sorry,”  Reiny said, “Come round soon yeah? Tom misses you.”

“Will do. See you,” Sirius smiled as  Reiny disappeared into the kitchen to place their orders and grab their drinks. The nine friends settled for comfortable chatter while they waited, and  Reiny came back a few minutes later with their drinks, saying the main meals would be ready in around twenty minutes.

When the food did arrive, Sirius saw  Reiny had slipped a note in his salad. He pulled it out and smiled slightly when he read it.

_Did you really think I would fall for the whole ‘I’m good’ huh? I won’t pester you now coz you would hate me, but please talk to Alya._ _I hate seeing you upset. And_ _get her to text me when you want to come_ _see_ _me and Tom. Al can come as well_   
_-R :)_

He folded the note and looked up, catching  Reiny’s eye as he looked up at the counter. They looked pointedly back at him and he nodded, silently telling them that he would  talk to Alya. They smiled back and he went back to eating his food.

They all stayed at the Leaky for another couple of hours, talking and joking together. Sirius  tried to  push all thoughts of Regulus out of his head, determined to have a good time. He  knew he couldn’t keep this pretence up for long, so that’s probably why he left early. They had just finished giving Remus his presents, and Remus had loved each one of them. Sirius had looked  around and saw everyone else being so happy, and even himself. He was keeping up a false pretence of happiness for his friends, and it was hard.

He left after Remus had opened the last present, giving hugs to Remus and Lily, he walked out and back to the bowling alley to collect his bike. Cycling back home, he refused to let his mind wander to anything, forcing himself to focus of the road ahead of him. 

When he arrived home, he saw Alya standing in the doorway.  Reiny mu st’ve texted her when he left, and Sirius was glad. He put his bike and helmet away  and walked straight into Alya’s open arms, finally letting himself go. Feeling Alya take him into the living room, he fumbled in his bag and pulled out his phone, handing it to  Alya for her to read the text Regulus had sent. She read it and held him, talking to him calmly and he nearly fell asleep on the sofa, is Alya hadn’t propelled him ups tairs  towards his room after almost an hour of non-stop crying. 

He fell into an uneasy sleep that night. One disturbed with  nightmares. It wasn’t fair. But then again... Nothing was fair.


	19. Remus-10

Be st . Eighteenth. Ever. Remus had had the best time  and had loved it.  Honestly. Bowling and having a meal with his friends  was the absolute best way to spend his eighteenth birthday. Everyone had been so happy and lively. Except Sirius. Well... Sirius had been alright and fun until he had to go and take that call from his family.  He was worried about Sirius . After the call, Sirius had put on fake happiness and h ad quietened down. It wasn’t fair. Remus had to make him feel happy and loved.  And he knew  exactly how to do that... All he needed was a bit of help from his friends.

***

_*New_ _Group chat_ _created – SIRIUS'S SURPRISE BIRTHDAY*_   
_*Members added_ _– 7_ _*_

Remus(R): YO! Okay I  wanna say thank you so  so so so so so much for the most amazing birthday ever  I loved it so much and I just  dhfrgiabvuibvui THANK YOU!

Alice(A): YOUR WELCOME!

Frank(F): MUCHOS WELCOME MY DUDE!

James(J): Dude you are incredibly welcome we all had an am azing time

Lily(L):  Darn you wolf boy you beat me too it

Marlene(M): Beat you to what?

L: Planning Sirius’s surprise birthday party

R: HAHAHAH 

L: Shut it you

Peter(P): When’s Sirius’s birthday?

Dorcas(D): 18 th April

J:  Oooooohhhh he’s only  2 weeks  younger than  Wolfy McWerewolf

R: …Piss off Jamie

J: Hehe

R: ANYWAY! I noticed that Sirius became  really quiet after he left to take a call  and he was upset so I want to make him happy and seeing as his birthday is soon... I want to plan him a surprise party

L:  Wolfy boy I swear you can read minds

R: Why thank you

F: He can I legit believe Re can read minds

P: OMG HE SO CAN

J: Wait when’s Sirius’s birthday?

A:  N ext  Friday

J: What day is it today?

M: Sunday

D: Okay Siri has an art exam all  day Tuesday and Wednesday so why don’t  we have lunch together at college and plan it those two days? That way we can keep it a big surprise

R: Sure! 

L: Yup. And tomorrow he’ll most likely spend all his time after our study date at his studio so we could start planning then?

J: Na. I think we just plan on Tuesday Wednesday and if we need to plan  some more we can get Alya to help up distract him or whatever

F: Yeah that sounds cool

R: Perfect.  So I guess I'll see you all round

F: Yee see ya

M: Ciao for now

L:  Byeeeee

D: See you then 

***

Once Remus  walked into  the  canteen that Tuesday, he instantly saw the others gathered around a large table in the  centre of the hall , sat quietly eating and checking their phones. He smiled and  went over to them, sitting down in between Dorcas and James.

“ Wassup lads,” He grinned, dumping his ba g under the table.

“Hey Re,” James said.

“Anyone know how Sirius is doing in his exam so far?” Remus asked.

“He said he had to do a  two-hour written paper this morning and I can’t remember what he has to do this afternoon,” Alice said.

“Oh neat,” James said, “What are we  gunna do for his birthday?”

“Pub night?” Frank suggested.

“Na. Sirius isn’t a ‘pub night’ kind of guy. He is more  a long walk in the countryside person,” Lily said, leaning back into James, whose arm was around Lily’s shoulders.

“He loves the beach. Just saying,” Dorcas said, looking up from her phone, “Like, that's his happy place.”

“ Yeah he does a lot of beach themed art. Maybe we could do a beach party?” Lily said .

“Yeah!” Frank’s eyes lit up, “Like a  barbeque and that?”

“Oh my gosh yes,” Marlene said, “ He would love that. We could  have just us and Alya ‘coz she’s awesome and cool and maybe  Reiny and Tom, you know the waitress we saw at the Leaky and  thei r son ‘coz Sirius  is real good friends with them and go swimming and eat lots of barbeque food .”

Everyone seemed to brighten up at that idea.

“Marlene you’re a genius,” Peter said.

“That’s MY girlfriend,” Dorcas said, grinning hard at Marlene and kissing her cheek.

“Why thank you my love,” Marlene said.

“Yeah Marls that’s amazing!” Lily exclaimed, “Siri would love that. We could arrange it  for his actual birthday. So, we could all go down to the beach  after classes without him  and get Alya to bring him down later under the pretence  that she is taking him for a small birthday meal, just the two of them  and then BOOM! We surprise him with a cool surprise birthday beach party.”

“YES!”  Alice  yelled, “Holy hell this is going to be perfect.”

“Now we need to tell Alya,  Reiny and Tom and get to planning the whole thing ,” Frank said.

“I can tell Alya tonight. Sirius asked me to get his portfolio  so I’m  gunna see them both  after class ,” Remus shrugged.

“Okay that’s perfect . Then she will tell  Reiny and Tom ,” James said.

“This,” Dorcas said, “Is going to be the best birthday ever.”

***

_ *Buzz buzz* _

Remus buzzed the doorbell at Sirius’s house and stepped back, holding Sirius’s portfolio under his arm. He only had to wait  a couple of moments before the door opened and Alya was standing there.

“ Hey Remus. Sorry, Sirius can’t talk right now, he’s on a call with some people doing the same exam as him,” She said.

“It’s no worries. I came to drop off his  portfolio , but I also need to speak to you, if that’s okay,” Remus said.

“Of course! Come in,” Alya ushered Remus into the kitchen and took Sirius’s portfolio off him, “Want a drink?”

“I’m okay thanks, can’t stay long.”

“Alright. What did you want to talk about love?” Alya said, sitting down opposite Remus at the table.

“Well, me and the others know it’s Sirius’s birthday next Friday and we want to give him a surprise party. So, we a re planning a birthday beach party. It will be just us nine, you,  Reiny and Tom.”

“You know Reiny and Tom?”

“No. We saw  Reiny at the Leaky on Saturday on my birthday and  them and Sirius talked so we  guessed they are friends.”

“Ah okay. P l ease continue.”

“Right. So, next Friday, us eight are  gunna go down to the beach straight after class, Sirius will come home to you and  if you could tell him you are taking him for a surprise at the beach with  Reiny and Tom . Then you , him,  Reiny and Tom arrive at the beach and bam. We are all there and have a barbeque and awesome time,” Remus explained. Alya broke into a broad grin .

“That sounds amazing. I  definitely agree . I was wondering what to do for his eighteenth and this sounds amazing. I will tell  Reiny and Tom . Will you let us know what time we need to be down there?”

“Absolutely . We need to sort out a lot of things, but  I will  definitely let you know. Can I get your number if that’s okay so I can text  you? ”

“Sure!” Alya gave  Remus her n umber and he stood up to go home .

“I have to go. I’ll text you.”

“And I’ll tell  Reiny and Tom. Thank you , Remus,” Alya said, giving Remus a hug .

“No worries. Also, did he talk to you about his family on Saturday after he came home from my party?”

“Yes, he did. It’s not fair on him, especially since I know he wanted to rebuild his relationship with Regulus. ”

“I know. Hug him for me?”

“Hang on, I’ll call him, SIRIUS!”

There was a  loud  thud from upstairs and  Sirius came running downstairs.

“Yeah? I need to get back to the- Remus!” Sirius smiled and ran at Remus, hugging him tightly.

“Hey. I got your portfolio. And you alright?” Remus hugged Sirius back, grinning.

“Yeah. I did talk to Ally so you can’t murder me.”

“I know. I  just  talked to her.”

“I have to  get back to my call, but it was nice to see you. I’ll see you Thursday after my exam. Bye,” Sirius hugged Remus again,  then grabbing  his portfolio, he ran back upstairs.

“Is he really okay?” Remus asked, turning back to Alya.

“I don’t know ,” She sighed, “ B ut this party will hopefully help him.”

“ I’ll try to speak to him. Anyway, I need to go. Was nice to see you.”

“And you!”

Remus went to the door, waving to Alya and got onto his motorbike, zipping off back to his home.

He was worried about Sirius. But he hoped that Sirius would talk to someone. 

Remus fell asleep that night dreaming about Sirius. About holding him, talking to him, kissing him . Just making his life okay. Remus wondered if he would ever be able to do that in real life. He hoped so.

***

** Hi Alya! It’s Remus. Can you bring Sirius,  ** ** Reiny ** ** and Tom to the beach at 4.30 on Friday 18 ** ** th ** **? We will all be  ** ** there from 3 so we can set everything up and we will have some swim stuff and the like for him to change into.  ** ** Thanks! **


	20. Sirius-10

** NOTE: Sirius and Tonks are NOT related in this story **

It was finally over. The bloody art exam was over and Sirius and the other five people who had taken the exam were going out for pizza that night. Yeah it was a Wednesday and  Sirius had college the next morning but come on. He had just finished an art exam and he needed a break. A chance to celebrate and just eat pizza, getting to know his new friends more. 

The six of them walked from the exam room to the nearby Italian restaurant called ‘Italian Feast’ chatting  about the exam. They entered and were directed to a table upstairs near a big open fire where the  pizzas were cooked.  Sirius sat in between two girls, Kizzy and  D ora , or Tonks, as she  preferred . The others were called George, Robin and  Harrie .  Everyone seemed to know each other, apart from Sirius and  Kizzy . They had all come from the same college and were  really good friends but had welcomed Sirius and Kizzy into their little group once they had spent some time getting to know each other before the exam had started .  Sirius liked Tonks best . She was a fiery girl with dark pink hair and a witty sense of  humour . She had nicknamed him Star Boy, and even though it was all good natured and fun, it remined him of Regulus and how he always used to call Sirius  ‘ Star ’ . 

Gods, he missed Regulus. It wasn’t right that he should have to go to Durmstrang. He should come to Hogwarts with Sirius and study law and  drama. He shouldn’t go to Durmstrang... But what could Sirius do about it? It wasn’t as if he could contact Regu lus. He didn’t have his brother’s new number. Granted Regulus had his and could contact him... but he couldn’t contact Regulus. He wanted to call him, hear his voice. He wanted to hug him  and get him away from their toxic parents. It wasn’t fair.

“ Heyyyyyy Star Boy!” Tonks said, “You zoned out again.”

“ Ohh , sorry,” Sirius  laughed nervously, “My mind wandered.”

“Yeah we could tell,” George teased, “ Whatchya want to drink?”

“Apple juice please,” Sirius replied, and Harrie looked sceptically at him.

“Apple juice? Seriously?” She asked, “Why not a bee r ?”

“Err... I’m not eighteen yet... And I’m not one for fizzy drinks. Apple juice is just fine for me thanks.”

“Quit nagging him Haz,” Kizzy said, “Just let him have apple juice.”

Harrie rolled her eyes but gave the order to the waiter and lent back in her seat. The waiter came back a few moments with their drinks and took their main course orders , relieving them of the menus and giving them more space on the table.

“Game of cards?” Robin asked, producing a pack from his bag. Everyone agreed and while they waited for their  main meal, they played several  rounds of whist and my ship sails. It was amazing. When their food arrived, they put the cards away and  started talking again.

“So, Tonks,”  Harrie said, “What’s with the pink hair? L ast time I saw you it was brown. ”

Tonks grinned, “ Another way to get at those haters. And show off my temper in a way.”

“Fair do ’ s,” Robin said, “Pink hair really suits you. Is that why you weren’t at college on Monday?”

“Na. Mum took me to get some new meds from the  doc. And we might’ve had a meal out together,” Tonks said, taing a massive bite out of her pasta.

“It’s beautiful,” Kizzy said.

“Well done T,” George said, “You are amazing. Honestly.”

“Why thank you  Kiz and  Georgie,” Tonks said .

“It really suits you,” Sirius said, looking at Tonks’s hair. She turned and beamed at him.

“Cheers mate! Not everyone likes  it, but you all do, mum does, dad does, my boyfriend does. Why do I need anyone else to like it? My body, my rules.”

“Hell yes. You tell ‘ em ,” Kiz z y said, “I don’t see why anyone would hate on you. If they do, then they are stupid. You’re a right tease, beautiful and real good fun to be around . Who could hate you?”

Tonks fell silent for a moment too long, a brief flicker of pain crossing her face, before she grinned again.

“ Thanks so much  Kiz ,” She said, turning back to her pasta.

Sirius narrowed his eyes at the pink haired girl next to him, thinking as he bit into his pizza . Kizzy was right, who could ever hate on Tonks? She was a  really funny , smiley and talented girl. She was loud,  extravagant and an amazing person.  It seemed impossible that someone like her could have haters. But what if there was something more to Tonks than what meets the eye.  There often was with most people. ‘never judge a book by its cover.’ Sirius wasn’t judging Tonks. If anything, he looked up to her. She was almost like the female version of Remus . Leather jacket, studded ears, outgoing personality. Sirius bet she was an extrovert.  A person like Tonks could never be an  introvert . Unless she put on a mask when around other people she didn’t know.

No. That couldn’t be true, since when she met Sirius and Kizzy for the first time , she was loud and fun and crazy. Why  w ould people hate Tonks?  How could people ha te Tonks? It seemed impossible from Sirius’s point of view, but then again , Sirius had instantly liked the outgoing personality Tonks had . And her hair. Who couldn’t love her hair? 

“SIRIUS!”

Sirius snapped back to reality when he heard someone calling his name. He looked around and saw  Harrie watching him, a grin on her face.

“We lost you again. Do you do that a lot?” Robin said.

“Christ. Yeah sorry. I was just thinking,” Sirius smiled  sheepishly, and the others laughed. 

“What about?” George inquired, leaning forward. Sirius had to think fast.

“I- Er... Just someone,” He said.

“Ooohhh! Who?” Tonks asked eagerly.

“Oh erm. Just this boy...” Sirius decided to just pretend he was thinking about Remus. It was easier than having to explain what he was thinking about Tonks.

“Dam. Some lucky boy to be on your mind. You  dating him?” Robin asked.

Sirius sighed, “No. I want to... I mean I dunno if he actually likes me...”

“Pht, mate. Who wouldn’t like you?” Harrie said.

“Plenty of people,” Sirius said.

“What the hell?” Tonks exclaimed, “You’re amazing. Why would they hate you?”

“ Ta Tonks, but  I’m bi. Many people hate my sexuality. See it as wrong. Even some people who are a part of the LGBT community don’ t think it’s right,” Sirius explained, and he saw Tonks’s  expression fill  with understanding.

“Yeah I... I get what you mean,” She said quietly, “You see I...”

“Tonks, you don’t have to tell them,” Robin whispered.

“I want to,” Tonks whispered back, “They seem like accepting people and Star Boy here is bi... Why can’t I?”

“If you want to, then go for  it girl,”  Harrie said, smiling widely at Tonks, who beamed back at her.

“Sirius, I get you ‘coz I get hate like that,” Tonks said, turning back to Sirius, “Not biphobia... But transphobia. I’m a transwoman  and started to transition when I was fifteen,” Her face became one of a nervous  child , biting her lip and waiting for their responses.

“Tonks... You are incredible,” Sirius said, before he promptly pulled Tonks into a tight hug. He felt her physical ly relax and hug him back.

“ Absolutely ,” Kizzy said, “And there I was thinking you couldn’t possibly anymore amazing than  you already were. Turns out I was wrong,” She leant over and squeezed Tonks’s arm, smiling at her.

“Th-thank you,” Tonks said, her voice thick with tears. Sirius squeezed her once again, before pulling back and looking into her eyes, which were bright with unshod tears.

“I say hears to Tonks ,” George said , raising his glass.

“To Tonks!” Everyone chorused , raising their glasses and some tears spilled down Tonks’s cheers. Happy tears. She was laughing and crying, the face of a true happy person.

“You guys are amazing,” She said, smiling around at the group, who all smiled back.

“It’s ‘coz we love you T,” Robin said , downing the rest of his drink.

“I love you all too,” Tonks said. 

Sirius had known there was more to Tonks, and he was immensely proud of her for telling him. She had only known him two days, and yet she had already told him she was trans. She was an amazing woman who would do great things. Sirius hoped he wouldn’t forget her, or any of these people. They had wel comed him and became some of his closest friends . He was eternally grateful for them and was glad he had their numbers. He just knew that he woul d have to keep in touch with them.

They were all sad when the night ended, and they had to leave the restaurant to go back to their homes. They made a vow to keep in touch and to try and see each other whenever they could. Sirius pulled Tonks aside before he had to go and  hugged her.

“That was very brave of you,” He whispered in her ear. She didn’t say anything, just hugged him tighter and kissed his cheek, before letting him go and walking to her car, yelling a final, ‘Goodbye bitches’ to the group. Sirius smiled at her, and turned back to Alya’s car, waving goodbye to the group of people he had gro wn so close to over the past two days.

“Home?” Alya said, squeezing his hand.

Sirius smiled, “Home.”


	21. Remus-11

Dammit planning a party was hard. Especially since it was supposed to be a surprise party and i t makes it ten times harder to plan a surprise party when you  rarely get any time alone with the party planners.

The Marauders, Lily, Alice, Marlene and Dorcas were finding it  really hard to get anytime together, without Sirius, to plan the party. They had to come up with  excuse after excuse to get away from Sirius, and they hated to do it. The look on his face after they had let him down once again, was really upsetting, but they had to do it, else they would never  get the party planned.  They had ended up in sorting out a rota of who  would keep Sirius away –  achem – spend time with Sirius, while the others  were sorting out things for the party and today, the day before Sirius’s birthday, it was Remus’s turn to stay with Sirius.

***

(Remus’s texts are in italics, Sirius’s in bold)

_ Hey _

** Hi Re **

_ I’m going to go to the Three Broomsticks for  _ _ supper  _ _ today _ _ after class _ _. Want to com _ _ e? _

** I  ** ** sooooooo ** ** would but I’m going cycling **

_ Aw dam hope you have fun  _

** Ta  ** ** :) **

_ Where you going? _

** Around taking a picnic with me  ** ** wanna ** ** join? **

_ Huh? _

** Do you  ** ** wanna ** ** come with me? On my cycle for a picnic?  **

_ Yeah _ _ I would love to!  _

** Cool. Meet me  ** ** out the front of college at 4.30 ** **? **

_ Okay see you then :) _

***

Remus leant up against the railings  of college  with his bike, hands in pockets , cigarette between his teeth, thinkin g while he waited for Sirius.  He was thinking about Sirius’s party as he waited. He had been put in charge of organising the games, which meant he had to fi nd a giant beach ball, a volleyball set, and some cricket thinks for French cricket. He had  actually managed to find everything he needed and was looking forward to  setting everything up at the beach the next day.

“You don’t smoke do you?” A voice asked near him and he looked up at Sirius.

“Sometimes. Not much,” Re mus replied, taking the cigarette out of his mouth and dropping it on the floor, crushing it with his trainer. Sirius looked at the crushed cigarette with disgust.

“Nasty habit, smoking,” He said, wrinkling his nose . Remus made a mental note to try and quit smoking. If Sirius hated it, he would stop.

“I will try and quit,” He promised, “Now, where are we going?”

Sirius smiled, “I thought we could cycle up round the back of college, along the hill paths, up to the second hill, then down to the Shrieking Shack , through Hogsmeade, stop at the lake to eat then cycle home.”

“Yeah that sounds perfect!” Remus said, strapping on his helmet, “Shall we?”

“We shall,” Sirius said, and they both got onto their bikes, starting to cycle around the back of college and up the hill.

It was a long and gruelling cycle, and Remus found it quite difficult to keep up with Sirius sometimes, mostly when they were  going uphill. Sirius seemed to be finding this easy, but then again, Sirius might’ve done this cycle a lot. It may have been hard, but that d id n’t mean it wasn ’t enjoyable. Remus loved every minute he was out there, riding through the village and over the hills.

When they arrived at the lake, Remus was very sweaty and tired. He flopped down onto the grass , panting and smiling.

“You look dead,” Sirius commented as he  sat down next to Remus, grinning.

“Gee thanks,” Remus huffed, “I don’t do that cycle often. Actually, that’s the first time I have done it.”

“Really?” Sirius said, pulling some food out of his back and handing Remus a sandwich.

“Yeah. How often do you do it?”

“ At least once a week. Maybe more. Depends on how I’m feeling.”

Remus hummed and closed his eyes, relishing in the sun shining on his face. It was relaxing, just lying in the sun, listening to the gentle sounds of the water of the lake lapping onto the land . He was happy lying here with Sirius. The only thing that ruined the feeling, was that his head wasn’t in Sirius’s lap and Sirius wasn’t playing with his hair. He wasn’t holding Sirius’s hand  or kissing his cheek. They weren’t together. Why weren’t they together?  They should be together. You know... Like a couple... That were in love...

“Remus, are you alright?”

Remus opened his eyes to see Sirius bent over him, his brows furrowed in concern.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”

“You were very quiet and that’s not normal.”

Remus laughed, “That sounds like something Frank would say,” He sat up and smiled at Sirius , “I’m great. Just tired.”

“Okay,” Sirius bit his lip, then shuffled closer to Remus, laying his head on Remus’s shoulder. Remus was frozen for a second. Sirius was leaning on him.  Without him having  to initiate a hug. He unfroze quickly and lent back a bit, so Sirius could curl closer in a more comfortable  position, which he did. Neither boy said anything,  they just sat quietly, relishing in the contact . They stayed like that for a while, occasionally chatting and  eating the picnic. It was amazing, being able to curl up with Sirius and laugh together. Remus wanted to be able to do this and be able to kiss Sirius as well. He needed to be able to do that, else he might spontaneously combust. He  decided to ask the question. Now. Right  now, while he was with Sirius and it felt all romantic. It was the best time to do it, and it felt right. So, he shifted a bit and started to speak.

“Hey, Sirius,” But before he could get any further,  Remus’s phone started ringing. ‘Lifesaver’ by Sunrise Avenue rang out loudly and Remus made a noise of frustration. He grabbed his phone and saw who was calling, James. Sighing he looked down at Sirius, who was still leaning on Remus’s shoulder.

“You mind if I take this?” He asked, and Sirius shook his head, lifting his head from Remus’s shoulder and lying back in the grass.

“Na.  S’alright ,” He said, closing his eyes.  Remus sighed and stood up, walking out of earshot of Sirius so he could talk to James.

Remus(R):  Yo what’s up?

James(J):  Er ... So, problem.

R: What?

J: Well...  You know the cake? Yeah well none of us can bake apart from you . Well, I think Lily can... But she is busy revising for her music exam and I  kinda don’t want to disturb her.  So. .. Um...

R:  _ *sighing* _ You want me to come home  and bake it?

J: Yeah if that’s okay...

R:  I was just about to ask Sirius out!

J: Ah shit. I’m so sorry mate. But we need this cake.

R: I hate you.  I’ll be there in ten.

J: Thank you so much  you absolute lifesaver and I’m so sorry .

Remus hung up and walked back over to Sirius, tucking his phone away in his jacket and thinking of a  suitable excuse for having to leave.

“ Er ... So , James needs me to help him... with his... History essay,” He said, rubbing the back of his neck. Sirius opened his eyes , disappointment visible on his face.

“Oh. Okay. I better get going anyway,” Sirius sat up and  gathered up all the food and things, shoving them into his backpack.

“I’m really sorry. I would totally stay if I could-”

“It’s fine Re,” Sirius said, smiling, “Don’t worry. I’ll see you tomorrow, I guess.”

“Yeah. See you tomorrow,” Remus  watched as Sirius  strapped on his helmet  and cycled off towards his home. He sighed as he clipped on his own helmet and climbed onto his bike, cycling to James’s house where  some of the others were waiting. When he arrived, he went into the kitchen, only to be greeted by a giant mess.

“What the fuck happened here,” He exclaimed, raising an eyebrow. James, Peter and Marlene looked up at him and grinned sheepishly.

“We tried baking a cake,” Peter said.

“It  kinda didn’t work,” Marlene said.

“Yeah no sweat,” Remus laughed, “Help me clean up and I’ll start baking a new one.”

The four friends  set about to cleaning up the mess that was created  in the kitchen, throwing flour at each other and making everything shine. Remus then tried to banish the others from the  kitchen, but they refused to leave, so he reluctantly let them sit at the table and chatter away while he baked. 

He tried to make it perfect. It had  to  be perfect for Sirius. It was his eighteenth after all , and eighteenth birthdays had to be perfect. It marked the coming of age  and the start of adulthood  after all . He was making a chocolate orange layered cake, with  strawberry jam in between each layer and fondant icing on the top. He decorated it with gold piping icing, which he used to write ‘Happy Eighteenth Dog Star’ and put several fancy swirls and stars and hearts around it.  Stepping back once he had finished, he wiped the back of his hand on his forehead  and called the others over.

“I’m done. Do you like it?”

They came over and all gushed about how amazing it was, making Remus blush with pride. It was going to be perfect ; the best eighteenth Sirius could ever have wished for was about to take place, and it was going to be amazing.

They just hoped that Sirius would like it.


	22. Sirius-11

Everything that day was normal. Normal Breakfast, normal cycle to  col l ege , normal  col l ege . No-one  acknowledged his birthday, apart from Alya, who gave him a  nice  present (a  brand new set of bamboo and horsehair paint brushes) and told him that the two of them,  Reiny and Tom were going to the beach for  a small party together .

It was a bit unfair. Gosh. How many times has that been said? It’s not fair.  All his friends  remembered Remus’s birthday and had a great celebration , but no-one remembered his eighteenth. H e was quiet the whole school day , just getting on with his work, listening to him music. He sat with his friends at lunch, hoping that they would say something about his birthday, but no-one did. It really upset him that no-one said any thing. Especially since it was his eighteenth. The day he became an official adult.  He would’ve liked someone to notice it. But no-one did.

It was really upsetting that none of his friends had said anything about his birthday. How could they forget?  He could understand the Marauders not knowing his birthday, since he had only known them properly for a short amount of time, but  Lily, Alice, Marlene and Dorcas  had been his friends for just under seven years now and had remembered all of his other birthdays... So why had they forgotten his eighteenth?

Sirius asked all of his friends if they wanted to go for a drink at the Hog’s Head after classes,  but they all made excuses not to come,: ‘My sister is ill,’ ‘I have lots of homework,’ ‘my  horse has to go to the vets.’ He just sighed and waved them all off,  deciding to stay at college for a n extra 45 minutes to study.  Once he had finished his essay, he walked out of college and grabbed his bike and helmet,  cycling back home , a sad feeling in the bottom of his stomach. When he did get home, he saw  Reiny’ s car  parked out the front. This put a smile on his face, for he  had missed Tom and  Reiny and was looking forward to their little beach party later. He walked slowly into the house and was greeted by hugs and smiles from Tom,  Reiny and Alya. He felt loved by these three people, and special, since they were the only ones that remembered his birthday.

“Sirius!” Tom said, squeezing him tightly, “I’ve missed you so much. Happy birthday mate .”

“Cheers Tommy! I’ve missed you too. I didn’t mean to be such a stranger...”

“Na it’s all cool ,”  Reiny said, kissing Sirius’s cheek,  “Besides, you aren’t going to be a stranger anymore.”

“Where have you been? We were expecting  you back home half an hour ago,” Alya said.

“Oh. Yeah, I was finishing an essay for my media studies. Sorry,” Sirius replied, walking over to his aunt to give her a tight hug.

“It’s alright. Now, Siri you run upstairs and out something suitable for the beach on and  then we can get going,” Alya smiled and Sirius ran upstairs, changing into some shorts , a loose t-shirt and his flip-flops. He grinned at his reflection in the mirror and was just about to go downstairs when he heard his phone ping.

** Happy  ** ** 18 ** ** th Star. Have an amazing day ;) love n miss u tons! Love Tonks xxx **

He  smiled; Tonks was just amazing at times. Texting a  reply , he ran downstairs and out to the car, where  Reiny , Tom and  Alya  were waiting for him.  Reiny a nd Alya were travelling in Alya’s car, and Tom was driving Sirius in  Reiny’s car.  He slid into the passenger seat , buckling his seatbelt and Tom started the car, tailing Alya and  Reiny . 

“ Y ou alright?” Tom asked after about ten minutes of driving, the music playing softly from the radio.

Sirius sighed, “Yeah. I mean, I’m  gunna have a great party with you and  Reiny and Ally and It ’s  gunna be so much fun...”

“But?”

“But I wish my friends had said or done something.  None of them acknowledged my birthday in any way, shape or form. And it hurts, you know?”

Tom smiled slightly and reached out to  clasp Sirius’s hand , “I get you. I don’t know what to say other than I’m sure they will do something for you .”

“Yeah, I suppose. I guess we are all  kinda busy with A-Levels and shite, but they all remembered Remus’s birthday. Just not mine.”

“Remus?” Tom asked, his eyebrows  raised, and his mouth curved into a smirk as Sirius blushed.

“Shut up.  Nope I’m not talking about him.”

Tom  grinned wolfishly, but let it go. Instead, he turned up the volu me on the radio and he and Sirius spent the rest  of the journey singing and laughing like the two carefree teenagers they were. 

When they arrived at the beach, Tom grabbed Sirius and blindfolded him before he could get out of the car.

“Hey, Tom!” Sirius shouted as his vision was taken from him, “What the hell!”

“Shush it’s all part of the party,” Tom said , bringing Sirius out of the car and locking it behind him.

“What the-”

“Hush. Mum and Alya have gone on ahead. C’mon,” Tom put his arm around Sirius’s shoulders and started to lead him f orwards. Sirius was wary, but he trusted Tom, so didn’t make any further comment and let Tom guide him on in silence. After a minute, he felt the sand spilling over his flip flops, so he made Tom stop so he could go bear footed on the sand. Another two or three minutes passed, then Tom suddenly stopped him.

“Stay here and do not move or take off your blindfold until I tell you, okay?” He said.

Sirius gulped, but nodded and felt Tom let him go. He didn’t move , staying perfectly still. While he waited, he listened  to the sound of the waves crashing against the shore and the  noise of other people on the beach. He could hear children laughing and screams of delight. It was his idea of heaven. All that was missing was his friends. He really wished they had done something for his  birthday. Or even just wished him a happy birthday. 

“Hey Sirius!” He heard Tom shout, “You can take off your blindfold now!”

Sirius smiled and untied his blindfold. He blinked a few times to let his eyes adjust to the sudden glare of the sun, and then his eyes came into focus. When he saw what was in front of him, he let out a  surprised gasp. There, right there in front of him, wa s all his friends, Alya,  Reiny and Tom smiling at him. There was a barbeque  and some food lined up on a table, a gigantic beach ball  was by James and Frank and  a cricket set leaning against the beach wall.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIRIUS!” They all yelled as tears fell down Sirius’s cheeks. His college friends ran forwards and swept him into a big group hug, squidging him in the middle.

“I-I thought you had all forgotten,” Sirius choked out .

“Sirius Black!” Lily exclaimed after she had kissed him on the cheek, “I thought you knew us better!”

Everyone laughed  at that and let Sirius go, letting him turn to Alya, Reiny and Tom.

“Were you all in on this?” He asked, and they grinned.

“Yup,”  Reiny said, coming over to hug Sirius. 

“Let’s get this party started!” Marlene shouted, grabbing the beach ball and rolling it  forcefully at Sirius, knocking him over.

“I’ll get you for that McKinnon!” He roared; a broad grin spread across his face as he  jumped up and rolled the ball back at her. The others joined in and they switched between playing with the beach ball and playing French cricket , before finally running into the sea, laughing and screaming while Alya and  Reiny started up the barbeque so that all the food would be ready when the teens came out of the sea. 

“REMUS!” Sirius screamed as Remus dived under the waves and scooped Sirius up into his arms.

Remus laughed and Sirius clung to Remus’s neck, grinning.

“AAWW!” They heard Dorcas yell, “REMUS AND SIRIUS!”

“Fuck off Dorcas,” Remus shouted , rolling his eyes as everyone laughed.

“ Guuuuyyyyysssss ,” James whined, “I’m huuuuuuuuunnnnggggggrrrrryyyyyyyy.”

“Jesus James,” Lily said, launching herself onto James’s back, “When are you  _ not  _ hungry?”

James pouted and crossed his arms, making Lily laugh and kiss his lips.

“We have been out here for an hour,” Alice said, “ And I can smell the barbie from here.”

“Let’s eat then,” Remus said, dropping Sirius into the sea and swimming to the shore, everyone  close behind him . They  ran towards  Reiny and Alya,  grabbing plates and napkins off the table and getting food off the BBQ.  After they had got all their food, they sprawled on the sand, munching on their burgers and hot dogs as the sun sank and the dusk became apparent . Remus was next to Sirius, and they were sitting closer than was deemed suitable for people who were meant to be friends .

While everyone chatted around them, Remus and Sirius wer e having their own small conversa tion. One that they should have had  ages ago.

“Sirius ...  I should have told you this  before now ,” Remus said , “I... I...”

“ Rem -”

“I love you. As in I love, love you. Like I have feelings for  you, and I want to hold you and kiss you and curl up with you and I wan t to call you mine ,”  Remus looked down and bit his lip. Sirius was smiling. Really hard. He had wanted this to happen  since the day that bloody car had hit him. He reached out and picked up Remus’s hand, bringing it up to his lips and kissing his knuckles.

“Me too,” He said, looking into Remus’s eyes, “I love you. Have done so for ages. I want to kiss you and run my hands through your hair and read to you. I want to be yours.”

Remus’s hand came up to caress Sirius’s cheek , the other squeezing Sirius’s hand tightly. Sirius let his hand come up to run his fingers through Remus’s hair . They were close. Very close, their l ips almost touching. Remus dropped his hand from Sirius’s face to his waist  and he lent forwards, a silent request being sent and was answered instantly .

Lips met lips as the fireworks exploded . Two lovers  coming together under the sparks lighting up the night sky as their friends  cheered, celebrating not only Sirius’s birthday, but also the chapter in a new story, a story of two lovers  and their friends out in the big wide world. 

As they separated and smiled, their friends ran forwards , crashing into them, hugging the life out of them.

“FINALLY!” Peter yelled.

“I was  sooooo sick of your pining,” Alice said.

“I think we all were,” Lily said.

“Way to ruin the moment guys,” Sirius laughed, shifting so he was leaning against Remus , holding Remus’s hand.

“You are very welcome my friend,” Frank grinned.

“Shush everyone,” Dorcas said, “The fireworks.”

Everyone  quietened down and listened to the bangs and pops of the fireworks . After a minute, Marlene began to sing. It was only soft, but they could all hear it. It was a song about new beginnings and fresh starts. A song that fitted the night. The night marking adulthood for a friend and  a new relationship for two others. Slowly, one by one, they all joined in. Harmonising and singing as the fireworks went off and they huddled together  on the beach. 

It was  amazing . A perfect birthday, a perfect night. And you know what? It was going to be okay. They had each other, and  it was just right.

It was perfect.


	23. Epilogue

** 7  ** ** years later **

“Dorcas, you have no idea how much Remus and I love you,” Sirius said, smiling up at his best friend, who was panting, lying on the hospital bed. She smiled weakly and Marlene squeezed her wife’s hand.

“You are so strong love,” She said, bending down to kiss Dorcas’s lips. Just then, the door  opened, and a doctor walked in carrying a small bundle. A baby. A baby that Dorcas had just pushed out of her body to give to her friends so they could raise a child of their own. The doctor passed the baby to Sirius and gave Dorcas a quick check over, saying both she and the baby were healthy and co uld leave that afternoon once they had rested.

Sirius’s eyes never left the tiny body sleeping in his arms. A  baby boy. His own baby boy.  He would love and treasure this child as much as he could, loving the baby in every way a baby should be loved. The love he never experienced as a child. He wanted this baby to grow up feeling loved and cherished by his parents. And hopefully, that wasn’t going to be a problem.

***

Remus’s plane had finally landed. He was home. Back in England. Not that he didn’t like Canada, but England was his home. He was glad  he was home, as he had woken up that morning to a text which read:

** Morning love! There is a surprise for you at home. Meet me and the others at  ** ** James and Lily’s place when you get back. S xxx **

When the plane had landed, Remus was one of the first off, front row bonus, and had run to get his bag from the conveyer belt . He grabbed his bag and went to the long stay car park, climbing into his car and driving out of the airport towards James and Lily Potter’s house, where a surprise and his friends were waitin g for him. 

He arrived within 40 minutes of leaving the airport and walked up to the front door. Before he could even raise his fist to knock on the door, it was  opened, and he  looked down to see the faces of two four-year-old grinning boys.

“Hey Uncle Remus!” The first boy shouted as he wrapped his arms around Remus’s legs. This boy had unruly black hair and vivid green eyes . Harry Potter, the spitting image of his father with his mother ’ s eyes. It was  really sweet . 

“I missed you!” The second boy shouted, hugging him as well. Short  light- brown hair fell about  his face and his  brown eyes shone . Neville Longbottom,  looking more like his mother than his father. He was adorable.

“Hey kiddos,” Remus said, squeezing their shoulders, “I missed you too.”

“ Everyone’s in the garden,” Neville said, pulling Remus along the corridor and out of the back door into the garden.  There, he saw Alice and Frank Longbottom, James and Lily Potter, Marlene and Dorcas  Meadows-McKinnon and Sirius. But Sirius had a small bundle in his arms.  Remus’s heart stopped. It couldn’t be... It wasn’t... 

“Hi everyone!” Harry called, “ Re’s back!”

The adults all turned around and smiled at Remus, walking towards him, greeting him with  hugs and kisses.

“Where’s Pete?” Remus asked.

“He’s had to stay a bit later at work and he’s getting us food,” Marlene said.

“How was the book signing?” Dorcas asked.

“It was really good! There were so many people and they were all really kind. I loved it so much,” Remus said, grinning, but his eyes weren’t on Dorcas, or James, or any of them. His eyes were focused on Sirius and the bu ndle, his heart beating as he realised what the bundle was.

“Harry, Neville. C an you let Re go? H e wants to go to Uncle Siri,” Lily said, gently  prised the  boy's hands-off Remus and, once he was free, he slowly made his way to Sirius, who was looking into his eyes, smiling a smile so bright it could’ve beaten the sun.

“Hey there Remmie,” Sirius mumbled, pressing a kiss to Remus’s lips, “Missed you.”

“Missed you more,” Remus whispered, but he was staring at the bundle. Sirius’s grin widened and he passed his  husband the bundle.

“Hello little one,” Remus said, watching the tiny body wriggle as it adjusted to the new arms.

“I was thinking Teddy Regulus Lupin,” Sirius said, leaning his head on Remus’s shoulder.

Remus chuckled, a tear spilling down his cheek, “ Reggie would be honoured. ”

“Yes, he  would. I thought he deserves to live on in some way. Even if it’s not in his own skin, ” Sirius had tears  trailing  down his own cheeks, and Remus lent to kiss him.  Even though Remus had only met Regulus twice, he still missed him and mourned him with Sirius. It was sad to lose a brother, but  they had celebrated his life and given him a new life through the name of a child. 

“We are a family again,” Remus muttered, “Me, you and Teddy. And all our friends to back us up. We will be good parents, right?”

“We absolutely will ,” Sirius said, “Teddy will  love  us, and we will love Teddy.”

“We won’t let you run wild with that baby,” Alice called, causing everyone to laugh.

“Yeah! And me and Nev can play with him,” Harry said, both him and Neville grinned.

“You better not let your kids corrupt our Teddy ,” Remus warned, mock glaring at James and Frank, who just laughed.

“Dorcas, I can’t thank you enough for this,” Remus said, hugging Dorcas with one arm, the other still holding Teddy.

“You’re very welcome. Let me and Marls babysit sometime?” Dorcas replied.

“Y ou didn’t have to ask,” Sirius smiled, “You would be our first choice of babysitter.”

“And what about us!”  Lily said, pretending to look  affronted .

“You have sprogs of your own!” Remus laughed.

“Food’s here!”  Everyone turned and saw Peter standing in the door, grinning and holding  two bags of food.

“Yay!” Neville yelled, and he and Harry ran at Peter, giggling. They all laughed and made to sit around  t he  garden table while Peter handed out the food.

“Congrats on the mini-boy Re , Sirius ,” He said as he sat down.

“ Ta Pete,” Remus grinned.

“I say a toast!” James said, standing at the head of the table , his glass raised, “ Hears t o  T he Lupins and many happy years to come.”

“Cheers!” They all chorused, downing their glasses.

The dusk settled around them while they laughed and talked, catching up together. Alice, Frank and Neville were  the first to leave, claiming that Neville needed to go to bed. Peter, Marlene and Dorcas left soon after, then Remus, Sirius and Teddy, the last to leave after helping Lily and James tidy up and put a sleepy Harry to bed.

They were a family.  Remus, Sirius and Teddy. A small, happy family. They had each other, they had their friends, and they had a  world out there just waiting for them to enter. They were happy. And that was enough . Enough for now.

_ ~fin~ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Thank you so much for reading my book. I hope you have enjoyed it! I have started writing the sequel so hopefully the beginning of that should be up soon, probably near the end of July/beginning of August... I'm a busy person! Anyway, hope you enjoyed :))))  
> -Charlie

**Author's Note:**

> Heya! Okay so this was on wattpad and I've decided to republish it on here after revising and editing it... So yeah. Enjoy it!! :)))


End file.
